Power Rangers Twin Spark
by TheMagiSpirit
Summary: Five members of an theatre troupe and their director/mentor, discover the hidden power of history's greatest heroes and fuse it with their own heroic sparks to battle the evil forces of Enigma and his twin sister Mirage, as the Twin Spark Power Rangers. It's reality vs. fiction, friend vs. former friend, in a race to collect and protect the incredible power of the Hero Sparks.
1. The Show Must Go On

**POWER RANGERS TWIN SPARK**

 **CHAPTER 00 - "The Show Must Go On"**

* * *

 **25th March 2011 - Midnight**

 **The Road into Tamway**

Brandon Dean drove his Sorento through the night, towards Tamway, his home town. Dozing in the passenger seat sat Dr Thomas Greene.

Both men were on what they collectively thought of as the wrong side of thirty years old, although Brandon wore it better. He wore his receding blond hair swept back for practicality more than anything. Dr. Greene, a GP, kept his closely shaved, and had a penchant for nice suits.

They were coming back from a medical conference that Thomas had been invited to speak at. Being a generous sort of guy, Brandon had offered to take him. It had been a boring day, but had given him plenty of time to work through the script of a play he wanted to put on with his amateur dramatic society.

Well into the second hour of the drive, the road seemed far more straight and more bleak than on the way out. Things had become altogether monotonous.

As they passed an oncoming car Brandon found himself staring into its headlights. Movement in his peripheral vision jolted him back to the road ahead. He swerved, narrowly avoiding a man standing stock still in the middle of the lane.

"What the _hell_?!" Thomas exclaimed, awaking with a start.

Brandon slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop on the hard shoulder. "Some idiot in the middle of the road."

"I'm not _some idiot_ , gentlemen."

The two friends spun to face the source of the voice. Sat in the back seat was an old man with a long twisted beard, wearing a velvet smoking jacket. He smelt of cherries and tobacco.

"I'm the Storyteller," he said.

"You…" Brandon flicked a glance back out at the road, then back to the old man. "How did you get in here?"

"Child's play," he said, waving it off like it was no big deal. "Down to business. Mr Dean? Mr Greene? I'm here to give you both fair warning."

Thomas frowned. "Warning? About what?"

"A warning that what is to come will test the very foundations of your friendship." The Storyteller shuffled across the back seat and opened a door. Cool night air washed into Brandon's car.

"For now, all you need to know is that I'll be visiting you over the next few weeks and years with … _instructions_ , shall we say."

He stepped out. By the time the door slammed closed the old man had disappeared once more.

Brandon turned to Thomas, a stunned expression on his face. "What just happened?"

"Something we should probably keep to ourselves…"

"You don't say," said Brandon, surprised to find himself laughing

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **16th May 2012 - Evening**

 **Ramsey Theatre, Tamway**

Another rehearsal over, Brandon Dean watched Guilherme Alvarez de Almeida (also known as Will) and Scott Austin leave then locked the door. The pair were the final two members of the Ramsey Theatre Amateur Dramatic Society to do so that evening, as always seemed to be the case, but he never said no to an extra pair of helping hands.

Will was a tanned young man of Brazilian heritage currently studying at Tamway Technical College. He never went anywhere with our his red and grey college sports jacket. Scott on the other hand was a blonde kid still in high school. He'd never been the best actor in RamDram, and seemed better suited to the technical side of things, but since he was young and perhaps overly enthusiastic Brandon couldn't fault him.

He went back into the hall to do one final check, an 'idiot check' he liked to call it, before heading home himself, but as he did he arrived to find an old man standing stage centre, waiting for him. He didn't know the man or how he'd gotten into the building without him knowing.

Brandon called out a tentative hello, "Can I help you?"

"Come now, Mr Dean," the man said, "Don't tell you you've forgotten me _already_."

"I'm sorry, I don't know you," He lied. Something about the man seemed familiar. He just hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. "But is there anything I can do for you?"

In the blink of an eye the old man was standing next to him. Almost too close for comfort.

"Very amusing," He said, without a hint of laughing. "And as it so happens, yes, there _is_ something you can do for me."

"What are you after, Storyteller?" Brandon took a step back. "I'd really hoped you were a bad dream…"

"Brandon, my boy," the strange man said, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. Brandon recoiled.

"Don't _touch_ me."

"I want you to find some things for me."

" _What_ things?" said Brandon raising an eyebrow.

"The Hero Sparks, Mr Dean."

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **Later that Same Evening**

 **The Residence of Dr Thomas Greene**

Dr Thomas Greene, rapped his knuckles against the door to the master bedroom of his posh yet affordable Tamway beach house.

"Gwen?" he said with concern. "Are you okay in there?"

His twin sister Gwendolyn had been visiting for the week, but had locked herself in the bedroom a number of hours ago. At first he thought she was taking a nap. Now he wore a mask of worry that did all it could to exaggerate the fact that he wasn't aging particularly well all things considered.

' _It shouldn't be reacting like this…_ ' he thought. ' _It was supposed to make her better, not worse!_ '

He furrowed his brow in anger and whirled around so his back was to the locked door.

Yelling out into thin air, he shouted, "Storyteller! Get over here. _This instant!_ "

He raises his wrist, revealing a bracelet hidden within his shirt sleeves. It was a wound leather job with a small black stone if obsidian. Upon the stone was an engraving of a calligraphic M. It's creator had called it a Soul Spark, or more specifically a Story Spark for the way it drew power from fiction instead of reality. The doctor hadn't however had time to study it's magic fully. All he cared about was the power it gave him.

Activating the spark with a thought, a thick oppressive fog burst from the bracelet, obscuring Dr Greene.

As the fog began to settle a voice, deep and warm, rang out. "What do you want?"

An armoured hand reached out from the cloud and point accusatively at the currently invisible Storyteller.

"You are not holding up your end of the bargain!"

"Our agreement was that I would help you gain the power you crave," said the Storyteller, "You have it, you've had a taste of my power and more. What you do with the Story Sparks I created for you is none of my concern."

With a swipe of his arm, Dr Greene banished the remaining fog, revealing his new, monstrous form. Over his pitch black, full body armour, he wore a Victorian style tailcoat, waistcoat and shirt. The golden chain of a pocketwatch trailed from a button hole to an inside pocket. His face had become that of a grizzled fox or wolf with a cybernetic eye, and upon his head sat a razor brimmed top hat.

"I think you _knew_ the Wonderland spark would do this to my sister. I haven't deduced the entirety of your plan, but I _know_ you're leading us somewhere…"

"You jump to conclusions" the Storyteller replied. "I see the soul of Moriarty resides well within you. Give your sister time to adjust to her new strength. Going from being so weak to so strong must be a shock."

Dr Greene snarled. "Watch your back, Storyteller. If you've harmed my Gwen, in any way, I _will_ come for you… and I think you know how much danger you'll be in when that happens."

"Hmmm," said the invisible magical being. "Enjoy your new life, for one day I will return to collect on the favour you owe me-"

"And I look forward to it," spat the monstrous doctor, cutting him off short of a full sentence.

"Keep well, _Enigma_ ," the Storyteller said, teasing Dr Greene with the name he'd given his new transformed state.

The old man's voice faded away signalling he had gone. Sensing this, Enigma turned back to the bedroom door and spoke in as calming a voice as he could muster through a mouth for razor sharp teeth.

"Gwen?"

The door knob turned with a screech. The doctor stepped back.

It creaked open.

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **18th July 2014 - 7:30pm**

 **Ramsey Theatre**

"Will," called Brandon, as the last remaining few filed out after another evening's rehearsal, "Could you stay behind for a few minutes? I won't keep you long."

They'd just finished a worryingly half hearted read-through of Les Miserable. Brandon had considered whether switching up the cast might help, but of course then they'd be right back at square one with people relearning their parts...

As Will Almeida stacked the final chair and made his way over, Brandon felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

"Sorry, hang on…"

He fished it out of his jacket. A text notification blinked across the screen. Sender unknown. He frowned and opened the message.

 _"Let the games begin, Mr Dean._

 _From your dear friend, Enigma."_

"Mr D?" said Will, "Brandon... Hello?"

He pulled himself away from the screen, unsure of how long he'd been out of it.

"What's going on?" said the twenty three year old. He hadn't changed much and still wore his favourite red and grey college jacket. "You look like you got dumped."

"It's not that…" Brandon mumbled.

Thoughts streamed through his head at a thousand miles per hour. Whatever Thomas… no, _Enigma_ had planned, Brandon had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't be good. Worse of all Brandon didn't know if he was ready for the task laid out in front of him.

" _Soooo_ … I've really got to get home and cook something," said Will, raising an eyebrow. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Brandon shook himself from his stupor.

"Sorry, Will."

If Enigma was on the move, he knew he had to get a move on. Will was as good a place to start as any. "Look.. Could you come backstage and help me for a second?"

Will shrugged. "No problem, I guess."

They passed through the small door beside the stage, and into the back room. Even today, weeks from any real performance, backstage was a mess of costume racks and left over props. Leaving Will hovering by the door, Brandon went straight for a padlocked chest currently hidden behind a plywood cut out bush. Dialling in the combination, he rummaged around inside.

"Gotta be honest, Mr D… you're freaking me out a little."

He continued to ignore the younger man as he dug through the chest's contents. "I know it's around here somewhere..."

After a second, Brandon came back up clutching a brown leather bracelet. Tied to the bracelet by way of an artistically woven brown thread was a smooth thumb sized piece of what looked like obsidian. As he turned, a noticeable red glow surrounded it, growing stronger and more vibrant the closer he held it to Will. The source of glow was an engraving; a segmented six-point star.

Brandon grinned. "I _knew_ it!"

"What…" Will frowned. "What am I looking at here?"

"Humour me for a second, okay? Because this is going to sound certifiably nuts."

"Any worse than it already sounds?"

"I see your point." He chuckled, handing the bracelet to Will. "I need you to put this on and hear me out."

He shrugged and did as he was told. He knew he probably shouldn't have, but he felt drawn to it in a way he couldn't explain. The engraving shone brighter, bright enough for it's glow to fill the entire room.

"I hate to use you as a test subject, but you've just proved something for me. Within that stone are the skills and strengths, the _soul_ of an influential person from history. Specifically, Nikola Tesla, the inventor."

"Uh-huh…"

"It's a _Hero Spark_ ," he explained, "a very powerful magical object if used correctly, and it's glowing because, _well_ , I think you were meant to own it."

There was silence as Will processed the information. Then, in his usual reserved voice, he said, "And does it do anything _besides_ light up dark rooms?"

"Here's the deal: hero sparks exist to make the world a better place. A man calling himself the Storyteller came to me and asked me to search the world for these sparks and protect them with my life. I don't know the full extent of their powers or their importance but the Tesla Spark should give you the ability to stand against injustice and make a real difference to the world."

"Like a power ranger?"

" _Exactly_ ," said Brandon, a hint of urgency now creeping into his voice. His expression mixed an excited grin with apprehension and a touch of worry.

"The message I got just now was from a man calling himself Enigma. He wants his own Spark so much, he'll do anything to get his hands on one. He even had a counterfeit Spark created-The Moriarty Spark-to fill the void but... I dread to think what he's capable of…"

"What's stopping me from handing this thing back, and forgetting this ever happened?" said Will. "Don't get me wrong. It sounds pretty serious and all, but why me?"

"Will. You're the _only_ person it reacts to like that."

"So I don't have a choice? It's fight evil… or fight evil."

"Of course you have choice! There's _nothing_ stopping from putting the spark back in the chest and forgetting I ever said anything." Brandon clutched Will by the wrist. His urgency had almost turned frantic now. "But then you'll be robbing the world of the hero it needs. I _wish_ there was another way."

For what seemed like eons, Will studied Tesla's Hero Spark. Brandon wondered if he'd made the right choice entrusting his burden to a kid like him. The Storyteller had lumped similar burdens on Thomas and him, and he knew how disorienting it could be. It wasn't a question of strength of character. Will was good people. It was a matter of whether or not Brandon had the right to heap such responsibility on someone.

"And this Enigma guy. Pretty much going be a colossal pain in the-"

"Yeah..."

"Then I'm in," he replied, with barely a pause.

Brandon blinked at suddenness and took a step back to take in the situation. "He's going to come after you. And never let up. You know that, _right_?"

"I know," he said, steadily raising his wrist and clenching his hand into a fist. "But, you know me, if Enigma is going to go after innocent people while looking for these sparks then I've got to do something. _Especially_ if I have the power to back it up."

Brandon reached out and clasped the young man's shoulder. "I knew I could count on you."

"Don't celebrate yet."

Brandon chuckled. He turned back to the chest and fished out four more leather bracelets. None had a shine to them.

"How about we find the owners of these, defeat Enigma and _then_ plan the party?"

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hi all!

Its been a while I know. Lots of things have been going on with me, (including getting married, but that's besides the point!). I hate that I haven't been able to get then next chapter out for Wild Masquerade, and I really don't have an excuse... I _have_ been working on it though. So hopefully sometime this year haha maybe

But I'm sure you're all wondering about _this._ Some of you may have read my other fic in the power ranger fandom... well, I feel like I've grown a lot as a writer since then, and no matter what I did I couldn't bring my self to revisit that AU I'd begun crafting. It just didn't feel right... So I came to a decision to mothball it and channel all that creativity into something new.

Power Rangers Twin Spark is the first instalment of a new series I've been planning for a while now.

It's set in what I call the " **Power Rangers The Next"** universe which runs pretty much the same as the canon time line we know and love up until the end of the RPM. From then on, I've basically scrapped the seasons I didn't like (Samurai and Megaforce) and replaced them with their Sentai counterparts where applicable, as well as getting rid of ones that ended up not fitting (Dino Charge - due to it's final episode). Things do depart pretty quickly after 2010 in this time line, and I may in future include other OC teams earlier in the time line, but it'll all be explained when it _does_ crop up.

Now, I've decided to run Twin Spark as an SYOC (which stands for _submit your own/original character_ if you've never heard of it before) almost exactly I did with Wild Masquerade. So naturally I'll be needing a few characters from you lovely lot.

I currently have 2/5 of the main team and a sixth ranger, which means I have space open for **8 other OCs**. 3 of those will be part of the main team and are reserved for the submissions I believe fit the best for the story I want to tell and the characters I already have.

The other five slots willbe auxiliary rangers. They'll each have their time to shine, and hopefully an arc dedicated to each of them, but they'll be much like the extra rangers in Dino Charge (i.e., they'll be reoccurring characters, but the focus per se outside their arcs)

All I need is for you to fill in the form below, and **send it to me in a PM.** I won't accept anything in the reviews as it would spoil character development if I did, with everything out there in the open.

For this one I want characters of all ages, races, walks of life, etc. Not just the usual five teenagers/young adults.

The common element in this fic is the Ramsey Theatre Amateur Dramatic Society, and each of the main team OCs should be related to that in some way. RamDram accepts any one who wants to have a go at acting, or taking part in productions in other ways. They don't care about age. They don't have to be members at the time of their introduction, but they should have some interest in the theatre. The Auxiliary Rangers can be whatever you want.

 **TAKEN COLOURS**

\- Red ( _Will Almeida_ )

\- White ( _Jiona Shimou_ )

\- "Sixth" ( _TBA_ )

* * *

 **OC SUBMISSION FORM**

(please, please, please delete anything in brackets before you send your completed form to me)

* * *

 **Name:**

 **Age:** ( _Any age between say 16 and 40_ )

 **Gender:**

 **Nationality:** ( _Yup. I don't just want people from America. Will is part Brazilian and the white ranger is Japanese. Or they can just be American. Anything_ goes.)

 **Ranger Colour:** ( _Any colour you like, except the ones listed above as taken. I'll ask you to pick again if it clashes with someone else)_

 **Hero Spark:** ( _As mentioned in the fic, a Hero Spark is what our rangers draw their power from. It contains the strengths and characteristics of a famous person from history or the modern day, living or dead. The Red Ranger, Will, for example, has the Tesla Spark. Hero Sparks CANNOT be of fictional people, that's someone reserved for the villains. And each ranger can only have ONE SPARK. Apart from that, go crazy, be creative._ )

 **Powers:** ( _Each spark gives the rangers two abilities besides allowing them to morph. One PASSIVE and one ACTIVE. Using Will as an example again, his passive skill is Inventive Intuition allowing him to cobble together gadgets on the fly, but not retain the knowledge past that point. His active skill is Arc Corona, your basic attack using bolts of electricity. Again creativity is key, and the two powers should relate to the chosen Spark in some way. If you're stuck I'm more than happy to help on this one_ )

 **Zord:** ( _I don't know if I'm going to use them yet... but I figure you may as well chuck an idea in just in case. This can be more or less anything. Think of a megazord in the style of Ninninger/Ninja Steel and you're not far off. If I do do zords, that's what they'll probably be like._ )

 **Appearance:**

 **Personality:** ( _When it comes to this section I want something juicy. I want characters who I can play off against each other. Not like rebels or anything, I just don't necessarily want them all to get along swimmingly. Know what I mean? Naturally, the more you give me here, the better I'll be able to portray the dude!_ )

 **Background:** ( _This doesn't have to be huge, but I at least want you to use they back story as a chance to justify their personalities, and more importantly drop and juicy little details I could potentially use as the basis for their focus_ _chapters._ )


	2. I Dreamed A Dream

**POWER RANGERS TWIN SPARK**

 **Chapter 01 - "I Dreamed a Dream"**

* * *

 **20th August 2014 - 5:04pm**

 **Ramsey Theatre**

Will Almeida stood at the back of the hall watching the band and the techs trying to coordinate themselves for the upcoming full rehearsal. As part of the cast, he didn't have to be there, but nevertheless he was. What else was he going to do on a Friday night?

With a nodding of heads and a forced silence, the band leader stuck up a four count with his baton. Asher McCullough, a tall blond young man in a maroon vest, readied himself at the sound desk, while Brandon Dean sat in the middle of it all like a king surveying his kingdom. On stage, a pianist, violin player and flutist took their positions for an instrumental three-part arrangement of I Dreamed A Dream.

Will always made a point to learn people's names, but the only person he felt drawn to as the music started was the girl on the flute.

Her name was Jiona Shimou. He didn't know much about her. Since she'd joined RamDram, Jiona had kept mostly to herself, but, when she played, that all changed. Over the years they'd had a couple of flutists, but she had a certain indecipherable something… A haunting, reserved playing style, perfect for Les Mis, piped throughout the theatre via the sound system.

But all of a sudden she stopped. The other two stumbled on for a bar before faltering to a stop themselves. She let her arms fall limp by her side. Will barely caught her meek 'sorry' over the stage mics.

The conductor sighed and shook his head. Brandon stood.

"Is everything okay up there? You three were sounding great."

Jiona fiddled with her flute for a moment, under the frustrated glares of her band mates.

When she finally spoke up her usually perfect English was heavily accented by her native Japanese. "I just… I don't think I'm capturing the emotions."

"What do you mean?" Brandon, concerned, made his way down the aisle to the stage's edge. "You played it so well."

"I'm sorry…" She hung her head. "I guess something not sitting right with me…"

Will wandered closer. He didn't want to intrude but he hated seeing people upset. His sister called it his curse. He simply couldn't leave a situation well enough alone, no, he had to be the hero.

Perhaps sensing that Jiona was getting a bit too self conscious of being in the spotlight, Anton (the conductor / musical director) spoke up.

"Okay, look… we'll move on to another number for now and come back to this another day. But we really don't have a lot of time left to perfect this."

Brandon nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about it. If you need a little more to get inside the song, then you have it."

Jiona bowed slightly and hurried off stage. She passed Will at speed. He wanted to praise her, anything to cheer her up, but by the time he'd opened his mouth she'd already gone.

He stood for a moment in silence, as the rest of them prepared for the next song, not thinking about much in particular. Then, as though he had no control over his feet, he found himself walking back out of the hall in search of Jiona.

He found her in the main foyer once again staring at her flute.

"That's one of my favourite pieces, you know," he said, saying the first thing that came to his head, for lack of anything better.

"Then I'm sorry for murdering it…"

Will sighed. "Okay, poor choice of words."

Jiona said nothing else. She dumped the flute in its case.

"It was beautiful," he said.

"No." She looked up at him with furrowed brow. "It was terrible."

"It really wasn't, I promise."

This had to be the longest conversation he ever had with her. She was good people, just not that outgoing. And Will couldn't fault her for that. He knew he could be the same sometimes.

"That's sweet of you to say, but…" she turned away from him and picked up her instrument case. "Forgive me… I don't want to talk about it. Tell Dean-sensei I'm sorry."

For the second time that evening, he was too slow on the draw to say anything else. Jiona gathered her things and left the theatre.

He cringed. So that didn't go as planned…

Noticing something warm in one of his jacket pockets, he pulled out the contents. A quickly fading white glow drew his eyes to a hero spark bracelet with a white crossed-bamboo engraving.

He looked back at the entrance where Jiona had been moments ago.

"No way…" he said out loud.

* * *

 **::PRTS:** :

* * *

 **St Mark's Surgery**

Across town, Dr Thomas Greene had just seen his final patient of the day when his office phone rang. He answered it, half expecting it to be reception telling him he had a drop in patient to deal with.

"Dr Greene speaking," he said.

"Uh… Mr Enigma, sir? We may have a problem…"

Thomas immediately spun around and covered the receiver with his cupped hand. He lowered his voice and replied.

"I thought I told you to never call me here, Riddle."

"My apologies, sir… said the simpering male voice, but I really think you'll want to hear this."

"Fine," hissed the doctor, "What is it?"

"It's Mistress Mirage," said Riddle, circling the issue. A low growl from Enigma elicited a slight help from the underling. He continued, albeit carefully, "She, Uh, decided it would be a good idea to go into town and have some fun. Know what I mean?"

"Damn it, Gwen," he exclaimed, holding the phone away from his head. "This isn't part of the plan!"

"Sir?"

"Riddle," he said, the cogs in his formidable brain turning, "Send some Monkeys out to back her up. If she doesn't come back in one piece, I'm holding you responsible."

"R-roger, sir. I'm on it."

Hearing a click and the unmistakable disconnected tone, Enigma replaced the receiver on its base. A knock at the door snapped him back to the unfortunately drole nature of the human condition and his day job as Dr Thomas Green, GP.

* * *

 **::PRTS:** :

* * *

Jiona shrugged off her jacket while juggling to her small instrument case. She still wasn't used to the weather in America. Although only slightly colder than Japan on average, it was far less humid making it feel even colder than that somehow. She found herself constantly overestimating and dressing inappropriately.

After getting comfortable she glanced at the case containing her flute. She sighed. It's not that she couldn't play the piece they wanted her to play. The notes weren't hard and she knew she could make it sound good, but somehow her heart just wasn't in it. Being that she was far more used to playing a shakuhachi, Jiona wondered if that had anything to do with it. It just felt wrong.

But even as she thought it, she knew that was a lie. The melancholy had nothing to do with the instrument or the song or the production itself

Screams, simian screeches and sickening peel of laughter lanced through the evening hubbub. Suddenly the crowds turned chaotic, people running, shoving; Jiona found herself pushed to and fro. First she lost her jacket, and, although she didn't know when, soon the flute had also disappeared.

Knowing she didn't have the money to buy another, Jiona did her best to search the sidewalk while trying to avoid being trampled to death.

"Ha!" said a shrill, childlike voice. "Look at them run… humans, curiouser and curiouser."

Humans? If the situation weren't enough, that word slapped Jiona round the face and demanded her attention.

Standing amongst a mob of what could only be described as flying monkeys with murderous eyes, was a young woman in a blue dress and a white pinafore. Her lack blonde hair hung about her shoulders, a stark contrast to the bloodied white hockey mask covering her face. Hanging from her waist and poking from the pouch on the front of her dress were an eclectic series of objects; an oversized, melted pocket watch, a luggage label with the words eat me, and a blue ribbon tied with a single knot.

The woman snapped her fingers and one of the flying monkeys presented her with a bladed hockey stick. Jiona paled. Her feet wouldn't move. She tried to look small, uninteresting, but their eyes locked.

Twirling her hockey stick, she skipped towards Jiona. "Now you are interesting."

"No I'm not…"

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to speak up," she said, using the weapon to lift her hair away from her ear, "Hmmm… I'm Mirage. What's your name?"

Jiona didn't reply. She took a step backwards.

Mirage's eyes narrowed. "Why are you trying to get away from me?"

"I'm not, I promise." said Jiona, though all she could think of was the blood dripping from Mirage's mask…

She slumped and stamped her feet. "You _so_ are."

"I…"

"Nope. I'm upset now. Don't want to hear it." Mirage turned to her minions, "Eliminate her."

The flying monkeys chattered amongst themselves before leaping towards Jiona with one beat of their miniature wings.

"Arc corona!"

A high voltage bolt of lightning struck the lead monkey. The others scattered, self preservation winning out over any amount of loyalty to their master.

Someone grabbed Jiona by the wrist and pulled her away, leading her into the park and behind the cast iron fence. She breathed a sigh of relief and finally gave herself a moment to thank her saviour.

He wore a red suit with golden shoulder pads, and cuffs on his white boots and gloves. Emblazoned on his chest was a black eight pointed star.

"Red senshi…?"

She'd seen his kind back in Japan. She remembered a team the media called Goseiger from just before she left to come to America.

"Uh, red ranger," he said, "At your service."

"Pleased to meet you," she said, wishing she had something else to say.

"Stay here for me, okay?" the ranger said, spotting Mirage and her flying monkeys advancing on them.

He turned to face them, but spun back a moment later. He took one long stride and forced something into her hand.

She opened it to find a leather bracelet. "What's this?"

"Just keep hold of it for me." He swiveled back and blocked her with his outstretched arm. "It'll protect you."

Mirage rolled her eyes. "I can't believe this… Why is it you hero types always show up around here?"

"I could say the same about villains," the red ranger replied.

"A villain?!" She jammed her bladed hockey stick into the grass and folded her arms. "Is that how you see me?"

He gestured around them at how devoid the town was. "Look around, Mirage. If you're not a bad person then where is everyone?"

"Urgh… Forget it!"

She grabbed her stick and swung for the red ranger. He jumped back a step, the blade whistling passed his stomach, then ducked under her follow up and into a roll. He sprung up behind her with a counter strike of his own, but two flying monkeys grabbed him in an arm hold.

"Wow. Just wow," said Mirage. "That was pathetic."

"How would you fair twenty five to one?" yelled Jiona, tapping into some unknown well of courage she didn't know she had. Clutching the bracelet tightly in her hand she missed the glow it was giving off.

"Jiona? What are you doing?!"

"It's like she says red ranger," said Mirage with a smirk, "You're outnumbered. May as well surrender right?"

"Heroes don't surrender."

He was right. Even in the face of overwhelming odds rangers stood up for what they believed in. She respected that.

She looked down at her scuffed wedding ring and then the mysterious softly glowing bracelet. Although she didn't profess to have her life under control, she was trying to be more courageous, though something things got the better of her. She'd moved to America for just that reason. To start over like she'd always dreamt. To grow. To make something of herself rather than waste away, bored and alone.

"And they are never outnumbered!" she added.

It was time to stand up to life and to people like Mirage. She balled her hands into fists.

Emotions reaching a fever pitch, bright light burst from between her fingers, momentarily blinding Mirage and outright frying the flying monkeys.

When it faded and Jiona saw her enemy alone, it filled her with a great sense of power. Only then did she notice her vision was off slightly. She reached up, feeling a helmet encasing her head, then caught sight of a gloved pair of hands.

"Oh my god…"

"Haha," exclaimed the red ranger, freed now the monkeys were dealt with. "I knew the white ranger had to be you!"

"W-what's going on?"

She had a good idea, but refused to believe it. Normal people like her did not become superheroes. Before the red ranger could explain, Mirage sighed dramatically.

"Well, this just got boring."

She scratched a circle in the ground. The dirt and grass fell away into a crackling portal of energy. "See ya."

She leapt in before either of the rangers could pursue.

The red ranger relaxed and tapped his wrist. His suit shattered away to reveal Will from RamDram.

Jiona gasped, "Will-san?"

"Yeah, it's me," he said.

"What's happening here exactly?" She followed his lead and dispelled her own suit, surprised at how easy it was.

He shrugged. "Mr D explains it best. Let's get back to the Theatre. Everyone's probably packing up now anyhow."

Jiona nodded.

* * *

 **::PRTS:** :

* * *

 **Ramsey Theatre**

Back at the theatre, Jiona found all the adrenaline of morphing into a power ranger had drained from her. She felt empty, and somehow small again.

As her and Will waited for everyone to leave, Brandon shepherded a particularly stubborn Scott Austin towards the doors.

She toed the ground unsure of what to say. While she didn't know him that well, she knew Will well enough to know that he wasn't a talker so much as a doer. She smiled. They must have looked like quite the pair, neither one talking to the other, even though they had plenty of questions burning holes in their minds.

Finally, Brandon succeeded in his quest to get rid of Scott and joined them. He lead them into the back room.

Jiona, surprising herself for the second time that day, spoke first. "I'm sorry for leaving early, sensei. I don't know what came over me…"

"Oh please, it's no big deal," he said, shrugging it off, "We all have our issues. It's when we stop trying to fix them that the problems start."

She smiled, for the first time in what felt like weeks. "Thank you."

"Hey," he said, "You're part of the team now. What sort of mentor would I be if I couldn't some out wisdom?"

"That's the thing, Mr D," said Will. "Is this a team now? Finding and protecting the Hero Sparks is all well and good, but do we really have what it takes to fight Enigma and Mirage?"

"You will. I believe in you."

Jiona raised her hand, "Uh, sorry… I'm still a little confused here."

Brandon explained the situation to her as briefly as he could, from the discovery of the sparks, to Enigma, his challenge and his twin sister. By the end of it, Jiona's head spun.

"A little unbelievable," she said after a moment's silence, "if I hadn't already transformed into one of this rangers. Are you sure you really want me?"

Brandon chuckled "I'd welcome your help any day, Jiona, but in this case it's the Okuda Spark that chose you."

"As in _the_ Okuda? _Atsuya_ Okuda?"

"If what the Storyteller told me is correct."

Jiona started to laugh, taking the pair of them by surprise. "Only I could become a ranger and take my power from the undisputed master of the shakuhachi."

Seeing Will's blank expression, Brandon jumped in to explain that a shakuhachi was an instrument in the flute family made from a shaft of bamboo and that it was one of the instruments Jiona played.

"That's not so strange," said Will, grinning, "I'm lumped with Nikola Tesla. That must make me some kind of mad scientist."

"Will," said Brandon, "As long as you don't start building a death ray or claiming you've invented a way to photograph thoughts, I think you're going to be fine."

The three of the burst out laughing.

* * *

 **::PRTS:** :

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, they had an eavesdropper at the door.

Scott Austin ran a hand through his hair in disbelief. The teenager had heard everything.

A grin played across his face. _Well, isn't_ that _interesting?_

* * *

 **Authors Note:**

Today's featured character is with thanks to Andruril93 over on DevientArt!

Many thanks to everyone who's submitted a character or villain. There are four spaces left and red, pink, white, black, blue and green are taken.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)


	3. The Robbery Part 1

**A/N:**

There are four spots available for auxiliary ranger characters. I have the main five sorted as of now, but there is always room in this story for others! The character sheet is on my profile, so drop me a message and we'll go from there.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'd love to hear what you think.

 **OC Credits:**

Scott Austin (Me)

Vivia Lane (FallenGrace26)

* * *

 **POWER RANGERS TWIN SPARK**

 **Chapter 02** \- "The Robbery, Part 1"

* * *

 **20th August 2014 - 7:21pm**

 **The Greene's Tamway Beach House**

"So you just left them?" roared Enigma, "Its only two rangers… and one of them didn't even know how to use her powers!"

Mirage rolled her eyes, "Gee, chill out Tommy-boy. It's not a big deal."

"Your little jaunt wasn't part of the plan. Now we may well be set back weeks!"

She squared up to him even though her monster form was far shorter than his.

"Boo hoo! You always were a cry baby when things didn't go your way." She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "I was out having a bit of fun, nothing to do with your precious little _plan._ And then it got boring."

She went back to lounging on the couch and examined her nails. "So I left."

Enigma growled in frustration. "You simply don't understand the consequences of your actions!"

"Nah, I get it," she replied, "I just don't care."

He spun on his heels, monster form peeling away as he did so turning him back into Dr Thomas Greene. "Lucky for you, Gwen, the next phase is about ready to begin."

"Wonderful…"

"You could at least feign interest."

"Still don't care, doc."

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **26th August 2014 - 12pm**

 **Tamway High School Cafeteria**

Vivia Lane sat down at a table in the cafeteria with a tray of hot food she wasn't interested in and gazed out the window at everyone lounging outside with their friends.

They'd only been back in for a couple of days now. With summer vacation over and no one to hang out with, Vivia wasn't enjoying herself that much, especially with all her friends back in England. She knew how stupid it was. She'd been in America for a entire school year and a half and still hadn't had the courage to strike up a conversation with anyone past the odd hello and group project.

Knowing her friends from back home were still off school for another week at least sucked. At least during the vacation she could visit them or chat online. Now, she was far too busy for any of that. She could hear her dad's voice, "term time is learn time" or some stupid aphorism like that. Though as much as she hated it, she couldn't shake the habit he'd drummed into her and her sister; as if he'd fly across the pond and give her a

talking to...

"Hey Viv."

" _Che vuoi?!_ " she exclaimed in Italian, near enough jumping out of her skin.

Startled from her train of thoughts, Vivia looked up to see Scott Austin sitting down across from her. She knew the blond from science projects, and he looked eager to tell her something.

"Heh… sorry 'bout that," he said, "People say I've got a bad habit of sneaking up on them, but I don't know."

"I'll say it again," she said in a quiet voice, avoiding eye contact out of habit, "What do you want?"

"Is _that_ what that means? I thought you were British?"

Vivia picked up her tray and stood.

"Wait!" said Scott. "I just want to talk."

She stayed standing but swiveled back to face him. "I know we go to the same drama thing, but it's not like we're friends … or anything… you know?"

She didn't mean to harsh. Truth be told, she didn't mind Scott's company, as long as he did his best to not be needy.

"Oh... _ouch_ ," he said, frowning. He pushed himself to his feet and left his food where it sat. "I'm just trying to be friendly here."

Vivia exhaled, willing the tension out of her body. "I'm sorry."

A grin snuck onto Scott's face. "No sweat."

"Not that I'm trying to get rid of you or anything… but why are talking?"

He shook his head. "Gee, Viv, you know you'd have way more friends if you dropped that attitude."

" _Scott_ ," she warned.

"Okay." He put up his hands in mock surrender. "Have you heard about the two new power rangers?"

"Yeah?"

As a matter of fact she had. It was pretty big news when a ranger showed up in your town. She had no idea though how it was relevant.

"Well, I was thinking… you see, I was talking to Toma and Kaipo Lamaga."

"The football-playing twins?"

"Yeah them. See, it turns out their house got broken into the other night. Thief got away with a bunch of their mom's jewellery."

Vivia screwed up her face. "That's awful, but what does that have to do with me? You're not making much sense here…"

He fumbled over his next sentence for a moment, before blurting it out anyway. "I know who the power rangers are."

She lowered her voice and stepped closer. It all made sense.

"Are you _crazy_? You want to ask them for help, don't you?"

"I know how it sounds but, I think the red and white rangers are-"

Vivia flung her tray back onto the table. She reached out and clamped her hand down on his mouth. "Stop!"

He let out a muffled sound of protest. They were starting to grab people's attention.

"Don't out them, not here."

The half-Italian paused, and glanced around. The whispers got louder. She couldn't believe what she was about to do, but she didn't want the school gossiping about her anymore than they already did.

"Meet me after school," she said, letting him go. "We'll talk then, got it?"

Scott nodded pathetically, before saying, "Thanks for hearing me out."

Vivia shrugged. "We've got rehearsal tonight and I can't be bothered going home first… and if I don't agree to your plan, at least you can walk me to the Theatre."

"Sweet," he said.

"Yeah, yeah… don't make a big deal out of it."

 _What am I getting myself into…?_ She thought, knowing almost immediately that she'd regret playing Scott's game.

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **After school**

The day came and went in an uneventful haze and Vivia found herself waiting outside the school gates for Scott.

It didn't take long for him to show, taking the front steps of the school two at a time. Vivia rolled her eyes.

"Hey," he said, a stupid smirking grin on his face, "I didn't think you'd actually wait for me."

"Trust me, I can't believe it myself…"

"Aww, come on. Stop being so sour."

Vivia took a left and started to walk. Scott jogged for a moment to keep up, before falling in line beside her.

"Remind me again why we're not, like, leaving this to the cops?" She said.

It wasn't lost on her that Scott didn't have too many friends. The jokes, the nicknames, dragging people into his hair brained schemes whether they wanted to or not. He tried way too hard, but he wasn't a bad guy.

"Because the cops don't always get it right."

It sounded like he talked from experience, but she didn't feel like pushing the subject.

Ranger mania may have been fairly well contained to the Americas and Japan, but it hadn't bypassed the UK entirely. They dealt with 'save the world from total annihilation' stuff, not lost and found.

"This isn't the kind of thing power rangers get involved in," she said. "Even I know that."

"They'll help."

She caught the fire in his eyes and the conviction of his words and wondered what he thought this would prove. For a guy she usually saw goofing off, this Scott was a pleasant surprise.

They turned another corner onto the wide open section of high street closest to the school. A line of young trees stretched up the central reservation between the two carriage ways. Having a school so close to the downtown area, made it rather tempting for students to wander off at lunch and explore the hustle and bustle. Neither Vivia, nor Scott had given into such temptation. She figured it was best to do your time in education and get out without a fuss.

"Hang on," said Scott with little warning, "What's going on over there?"

He pulled her to a stop and pointed to a narrow delivery alley backing onto a block of apartments. They watched as a man dropped from a second story window. Whether through sheer coincidence and dumb luck or not, they seemed to be the only people to notice the would-be thief.

"Come on!"

Before Vivia could really register what happened, Scott had her arm tight in his grip and lead her across the road. They entered the alley just as the thief disappeared out the other end, but that didn't deter Scott.

Vivia, managing to wrestle her arm back, kept pace. "Are we seriously doing this?"

He must have had a death wish. What sensible human being chased down a thief on a hunch? Though, try as she might, Vivia couldn't let him do it alone, so she followed him right into the jaws of certain doom.

They turned the corner and skidded to a halt face-to-face with the criminal. No doubt he'd clocked them long before the chase could truly begin. A cocky half-grin only proved it.

"A couple of _kids_?" He said with a distinct stuttering chuckle. "You've gotta be stupid."

For once, even Scott kept his mouth shut.

"I gotta say though, A+ for guts." The thief pocketed his winnings and begun a slow walk around them. "Too bad I'm the wrong guy to be messing with."

Scott reached for his phone, and in the blink of an eye it was whipped out of his hand and pinned to the masonry behind them. A short shafted arrow stuck out of its shattered remains.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

The thief had barely moved his arms. In fact, both remained buried in his jacket pockets. No way did he have enough time to draw a bolt firing weapon... and the idea that a man could bury an arrow in brick just by throwing it? Not possible. Right?

"I guess the cats out of the bag now," he said.

He pulled his right hand from his coat and revealed a fairly unremarkable bracelet. Vivia found herself close enough to see an engraving of a bow and arrow on a thin sliver of obsidian woven onto the band.

A cloud of acrid black smoke burst from it, making both teens choke.

She half expected the thief to have used the diversion to escape. Although maybe he had, for standing in his place was a some kind of warped Robin Hood look alike, complete with green cowl, a bow and a quiver of fine arrows.

Vivia turned to Scott while the villain soaked up the glory. She'd long been driven passed the need for a gasp of surprise and instead wore a blank expression.

"The one randomer you force me to chase and he's a monster… nice one," she said.

"Heh… what are the odds?" Scott gave nervous shrug.

She resisted the urge to slap him and kept her eyes focused on the unnaturally fast villain in front of them. When she woke up this morning she hadn't planned on being killed by Robin Hood's evil twin. With a bit of luck help would arrive soon, otherwise they were royally boned.

The monster raised his bow to fire, when a mellow soothing sound filled the air. Tendrils of energy snaked up from the ground. As the sound-a flute of some description-intensified, they moved in rapid, jerking motions. The whips of energy lashed at the villain, binding his arms to his side and forcing him to drop the bow.

The red ranger dropped in between them and held out his arms. "You two should get out of here."

The media had only caught grainy low quality images of the town's resident rangers, so Vivia wasn't prepared to see one up close. He cut an impressive heroic figure.

A second ranger jumped down from rooftops. Her suit was white bearing a design on her chest of two shafts of bamboo. In her right hand, she held an old shakuhachi, no doubt the source of magical music that had saved them.

Scott seemed to be in his element. He grinned the grin of someone who thought they knew an important secret. If Vivia read him right, the white ranger had just confirmed his suspicions about their identities.

She hated to drag him away from such excitement, but...

"Scott… we need to go."

He shook himself and nodded. "Right."

They ran back around the corner of building. Vivia would have kept going, but quickly realised that Scott had stopped to check out the fight from a safe distance.

" _Scott_ …" she hissed.

"If it gets too dangerous _then_ we can go." The glint had yet to leave his eyes. "I promise."

She opened her mouth but no witty retort came to her, instead she relented. "Ugh… fine."

They peered around trying to get a good look at the rangers.

"Alright, Locksley," said the red ranger to the bound villain. "The game's over."

"Would that it were, Red." He strained against his bonds, shattering them with ease. "But I've still got things to accomplish."

In a flash the villain had nocked an arrow to his bow and fired. The arrow split as it flew and rained down at them.

The White Ranger called up a barrier of energy with her shakuhachi to protect herself, while the red ranger opted to blast as many out of the air as he could with his lightning attack.

By the time they had dealt with the arrows, Locksley had snuck inside their reach and slashed them with a dagger he produced from his sleeves. Their suits sparked. They stumbled back and readied themselves for a counter but he didn't press the attack.

"You two do realise I have places to be, right?"

"The only place you need to be is here," said the red ranger.

They clashed once more. Both rangers fought unarmed and did their best to dodge the sudden slashes Locksley made with his dagger. As they fought collateral damage in the alley increased.

Vivia yanked Scott to the ground. A bin lid soared over their heads and clattered against a wall.

Scott's eyes widened. "Okay… now we can go."

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

They arrived at Ramsey Theatre just as the last few people filtered into the hall. Thankfully they weren't too late, all things considered. Vivia was more than happy to be out of the frying pan, but she had a feeling the fire wouldn't be too far behind.

"If Will and Jiona aren't here yet then we'll know-" he began to say.

Vivia grabbed Scott by the arm, cutting him short. "Wait a sec."

She winced, realising she must have pulled something in her shoulder getting away from Locksley.

"What's up?" He replied.

"Look, I think we need to be smart about this," she said, "The rangers… they obviously want to stay anonymous for a reason so, I think maybe we should give them a chance. At the very least we can wait to make sure you're not mistaken."

He yanked his arm out of her grip. "I know what I heard, Viv."

"I know, I know… just wait okay, _please_?" she begged. "If they aren't the rangers then we're both going to look pretty stupid."

He sighed and relented. "Fine. I guess it _would_ be better to catch them in the act."

"Thank you."

Truth was Vivia didn't think he had the right to out them either way. Asking for help with the stolen jewelry was one thing, but doing it in front of everyone? And what if they were only only _talking_ about the power rangers, or a video game, or something else entirely? Scott seemed adamant, but the least he could do was wait for some concrete evidence before dropping himself in it.

Just as they were about to enter, a tall young man barged passed them. Asher McCullough wasn't a bad guy. Even though he rarely spoke during rehearsals, he had a natural charisma Vivia admired. He had no shortage of friends. Only today something seemed off about him, like he was angry, or stressed.

She shook it off, but Scott must have been on his last nerve. He seized Asher by the back of his maroon vest.

"Are you gonna watch where you're going?!"

Asher shrugged out of Scott's grip with little effort. "Get lost, Austin."

As he walked away, he let out a odd stuttering chuckle.

Vivia froze for a moment, unsure why his laughter bothered her. She turned back to Scott with a roll of her eyes. "Done being macho?"

Scott shrugged, wisely not committing to anything. They moved on into the hall and down towards the stage where everyone had gathered.

Vivia was more than willing the let the craziness of her afternoon slide into obscurity. She wasn't used to being chasing after monsters and getting attacked, let alone the idea of power rangers still being a thing. She much prefered her world as vanilla as possible. That way she knew exactly what lurked around the corner, _and_ what it expected of her.

Unfortunately, as she was getting ready to sing one of her parts as Fantine, she spotted both Will and Jiona sneak in at the back of the theatre. Her eyes locked with Scott's, who had taken up residence in the wings with the rest of the stage crew. Even though they were still waiting on some of the costumes, Brandon wanted them to run scenes as though it were a real performance.

She had to admit. Their late arrival was suspicious at best. Perhaps he did know who the power rangers were…

Neither of them had time to dwell on the matter as Vivia took her mark.

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

"Right!" said Brandon, clapping his hands together. "That'll do for tonight everyone. Next week we're starting full dress rehearsals. That means we're having extra meetings in the week, and I'll be sending out reminders tonight, so please don't miss it!"

Vivia released the breath she'd been holding.

 _This is crazy,_ she thought, _A part in a musical like this… I hope I can pull it off…_

Maybe she'd concede that she could sing, at least enough for musical theatre, but anything past that and she felt like an imposter. There were people in RamDram who'd put in far more time than her over the years and surely deserved it more, but like it or not she had a job to do.

 _Okay that's a bit too whiny, Viv,_ she told herself, _Get over it. You know you're enjoy this._

She smiled and chuckled to herself as she went to grab her things and make her way outside to where her nonna was waiting to drive her home. She stooped to pick up her rose gold cardigan and school bag.

"Hey." Scott appeared without warning making her yelp in fright.

"Why do you keep _doing_ that?!"

He shrugged. "I like keeping people on their toes?"

"Seriously, my nonna is going to be waiting for me," she said with a sigh, as she shouldered her bag, "can we do this some other time?"

"Nah." He looked around himself briefly then snapped back to her. "Something's going on. Asher just left in a heck of a hurry."

He gestured to the back room in time for Jiona, Brandon, and Will to rush out looking flustered yet trying to keep it quiet.

Vivia frowned. "Okay… you have my attention."

"And I'm going to offer my help."

"What? No, you can't do that!" She made a grab for his arm but missed by a fraction of an inch.

She chased him over to the others. Despite her protests, she didn't want to be left out of the loop. Not after being attacked by a monster and getting roped into tracking down some missing jewellery for the Lamaga twin's mom.

"Don't ask me why," she caught him saying, "but I think Asher just made off with whatever you're looking for. I saw him snooping around in the back room earlier, and he _couldn't wait_ to get out of here."

" _Scott_ ," she hissed. Vivia made a note to keep her secrets close around Scott. The guy seemed to have an uncanny knack for ferreting out the truth. That, or was just nosey.

Brandon herded them into said store room and knocked the door closed when the coast was clear.

"What do you know?" he demanded.

"I don't have proof, but-"

"He doesn't know anything!" Vivia spat. "He just likes causing trouble."

She thought she caught Will smirk, but if he did he squashed it swiftly.

Scott waved her off.

"I'm pretty sure these two," he pointed at Will and Jiona, "Are power rangers. And I swear I'm not going to tell anyone, but I couldn't _not_ help, you know?"

Brandon shook his head, then pinched the bridge of his nose. He shared a silent conversation with the others, before speaking once more. "Alright. You're not wrong."

"Yes!" he said, accompanied with a fist pump.

" _But_ we're going to have a long discussion about this whole mess. Got it?"

Vivia had never seen their usually easy-going director so serious. Sure. he had his moments of strictness, but that came with the job. It scared her.

He nodded to Will and Jiona, who seemed to understand perfectly. They made a break for the door, but Will paused on his way past Scott and clapped him on the back. "Seriously, dude, don't go blabbing."

Scott mimed zipping his mouth closed.

He glanced at Vivia. "We can count on you to keep him quiet, right?"

Dumbly, Vivia nodded. She had nothing to say… okay she had plenty to say, a million questions in fact, but it didn't seem the time or place to air them.

"Don't worry Mr. D," said Will, disappearing out the door with his fellow ranger. "We'll get them back."

Scott frowned. "Them? What's ' _them_ '?"

"Long story," replied Brandon, rolling his eyes, "one I'm not sure I want to tell you yet."

"What have I done?" He said shoving his hands in the air in surrender.

"You've done more than enough," chuckled Vivia, "I think it's time to leave it to the professionals, don't you?"

To her surprise, Brandon started laughing too. Scott didn't seemed too pleased at being the butt of the joke, but revelled in the attention nonetheless.


	4. The Robbery Part 2

**POWER RANGERS TWIN SPARK**

 **Chapter 03** \- "The Robbery, part 2: Do You Hear The People Sing?"

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

"Hey, mom?" said Asher, slamming the front door and tossing his bag down by the stairs.

Bronagh McCullough stepped out of a side room, the office, and pulled off her reading glasses.

"Guess what I just found out?"

"That you were born in a barn perhaps?" she said in her thick Irish accent, jabbing her glasses in the direction of his discarded bag.

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation here…" When his mother didn't budge, he sighed and picked up his bag. "Turns out I _was_ needed for rehearsals the other night, after all."

"But your Mr Dean told you to stay home…"

"Oh it gets better," he said, rage visibly building in his expression, "I talked to some of my friends. Apparently I showed up anyway and left in a hurry after."

Bronagh frowned. "You _were_ in your room, right?"

"Ma, come on.. I'm not a kid," he rolled his eyes, "I don't climb out windows anymore."

She narrowed her eyes and studied him for an agonising few seconds. If he had to pick one thing his mother excelled at it would be sniffing out a lie. He didn't know whether it was an Irish mum thing, or the fact she was taking classes in psychiatry.

Her features relaxed. Clearly he'd passed the test.

"I don't see how this is possible," she said, "No one on Earth's going around getting surgery to look like you."

Ignoring her subtle but playful dig at his looks, the kind of embarrassing running joke only a mother could find amusing, he replied. "Trust me. I want to figure this out as much as you do."

"And even if they _could_ fool your friends," she continued, "Why would someone pose as you and take your place at an amateur dramatics dealie?"

"That's the best part!" He said. "Apparently I'm a thief now too. Do you believe that?"

"Stealing the show doesn't count, son."

Asher rolled his eyes. "You know I don't act."

Bronagh flicked him on the ear. He recoiled.

"Enough of the cheek," she said. "So. _Are_ you going to do anything about all this?"

He'd not long gotten Mr Dean's reminder about the entire cast and crew now being needed for full rehearsals. Despite the anger of being messed around like that dripping from him like sweat, Asher smiled.

"You better believe it."

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **The next day**

 **Ramsey Theatre**

Despite the days growing shorter, Asher got out of work while it's was still light. The weather was rubbish and frankly he couldn't wait to get to RamDram. As he lugged his sound and lighting equipment into the 1950s style foyer of the Ramsey Theatre, Scott Austin pounced on him.

He didn't hate the guy. At worst, he found him tedious, but maybe that's just what seventeen year olds were like these days. The kid always had a scheme or plan, and Asher didn't know why it irritated him, but it did. On top of that Scott had an awful knack of inserting himself into conversations that were none of his business.

"Alright then, _McCullough_." Scott attempted to grab Asher by the collar but, being too short, had ended up getting a fistfull of his shirt. "Mind telling me what last rehearsal was all about? You left in on hell of a rush… and I know I caught you snooping around too!"

"Hi … _Austin_ ," he groaned. "Actually, I wouldn't mind an explanation myself."

"Oh _sure_ , an explana-"

"Back off, Scott." Brandon stepped in between them.

He was followed by Will Almeida. "It wasn't him."

Asher rolled his eyes. He could feel the anger of someone imitating him to do god knows what bubbling up again, but decided against launching into a long tirade. Either way it seemed at least someone was on his side.

" _What_ wasn't me?" He said, simplifying his myriad questions as best he could. "What happened?"

Brandon glanced around making sure they could talk privately. "You didn't come to the last rehearsal, did you?"

"Nope. Was told I didn't have to." Asher folded his arms and stared them down. He knew people were intimidated by his height and he wasn't above using it to his advantage from time to time. "But I bet someone came in my place, didn't they."

Will hissed as though he'd suddenly realised something. "Damn it."

Brandon shook his head as if confirming what Will feared. "It must have been one of Locksley's disguises…"

Asher watched blankly, understanding very few of the words they exchanged. Would it have killed them to explain the situation to him? More importantly, how had this Locksley fooled them? Was Asher that forgettable to these people that they couldn't tell a fake from the real deal?

Enough was enough.

"So, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what's going on," he said. "After all, _I'm_ the one who's _apparently_ had his identity stolen. For that matter, who or what is a ' _Locksley_ '?!"

"There's no sane way of saying this, so I'll won't sugar coat it," started the director.

"I'm not asking you to spare my feelings, just tell me," said Asher.

"Locksley is a thief who uses the power of a magical bracelet aid his extracurricular activities. I'm sorry to say, he used your face to get in and take a few, uh, things from me, important things."

"Let me guess," Asher said, "He's one of those monsters. I guess that explains why the news keeps reporting about a team of rangers in Tamway."

No one spoke.

"It's not a secret, is it?" He continued, "Flying monkeys, a crazy woman dressed like a reject from Alice in Wonderland, all causing random acts of violence. Hardly the kind of thing you could slip under the radar… so what I want to know is why did that Locksley guy choose me so he could get to what I'd wager is your stash of 'magical bracelets'?"

What? Didn't they think he had two brain cells to rub together? All he'd done was take the facts available to him and come to a simple hypothesis. The shocked expressions told him everything he needed to know.

"H-how did you guess...?" stuttered Scott. He had the expression of a hipster realising the obscure band he liked was more popular than he first thought.

"Well, it stands to reason, doesn't it?" he explained, "It's just simple logic. What's the one thing a thief with supernatural powers of disguise would do given half the chance? Gather more of that power. He's clearly trying to flaunt these skills too. Of _course_ he's going to try and steal a few more abilities while he's at it. Anything to make his job easier, right?"

"Very… astute of you, Asher," said Brandon.

"Oh and one more thing." He turned to Will. "You may want to cover up that bracelet. Don't want people figuring out you're a... power ranger."

None of them had done a particularly good job at hiding the secret. It honestly surprised him more people hadn't figured it out, but then again not everyone could put the facts together.

He particularly enjoyed Scott Austin realising he wasn't as clever as he thought he was. No way was the kid a ranger. Considering Brandon Dean, a sensible man, wouldn't have been stupid enough to tell him in the first place, he must have figured it out by himself and blackmailed his way into the group.

 _Typical Austin…_

Asher shrugged. "Of course, I could be wrong. No one's perfect."

Will raised an eyebrow at Asher and Scott, but didn't comment. Instead he turned to address Brandon. "What are we going to do? If Locksley doesn't want to be found then he won't be found… and what if he hands the Sparks over to Enigma?"

Brandon sighed and rubbed his temples. "We'll have to hope he wanted them for himself, and just wait until the next time he surfaces."

Asher found himself butting in for once. "I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries here, but we could already be too late on that front… though I think I know how you can draw him out."

They gathered around, interested for once in what their resident techy had to say.

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **A few weeks later...**

Remy Dunoix glanced up at the signage above the cafe/restaurant and smiled as he walked through the door.

The Dunoix Cajun Cafe. Pride lanced through him. It had taken a long time but he finally had the life of which he'd dreamt. Working at the family restaurant during the day, cooking the food he loved, giving the people of Tamway a taste of the culture that raised him; and at night, competing in mixed martial arts tournaments, keeping his body honed and ready for whatever his opponents could throw at him.

He liked his life, he realised, and he'd fight to hold onto that happiness no matter what.

"Remy! Come see!"

He chuckled, hearing the voice of his younger sister calling him into the kitchen. It never took her long to figure out he'd arrived.

As he passed through the swinging doors a familiar smell assaulted his nostrils. He sprinted the rest of the way and peered into the large cooking pot she had on the range.

"Is this what I think it is, Sylvie?"

"Yup," she said. "Mathew's gumbo."

"But he never told us the recipe before… you know..." The words caught in his throat. Instinctively his hands went to the dog tags hanging around his neck.

Even as he faltered, Sylvie never lost her smile. He didn't think she'd ever really dealt with the loss of their older brother in the war overseas. She just shoved it away and pretended it didn't exist. The gumbo must have been her way of making amends.

"I've been trying to recreate it for ages..." she said, going back to stirring the pot so it wouldn't burn, "And today I think I finally got it right!"

Remy gathered her into a sudden hug.

"What's this for?" She didn't struggle but she didn't return it, being that she had a spoon in her hand and a gumbo to look after.

Remy pulled back. "He'd be so proud of you... figuring this out."

Shrugging her way out of his embrace, Sylvie put her spoon down on the sideboard. When she looked back up at him her eyes were wet with tears.

"Do you think so?"

" _Cher_ , I know so."

She sniffed, her smile returning.

"Thank you," she said in a tiny vulnerable voice Remy wasn't used to. "I was hoping we could put it on the menu?"

"You'll have to ask mama," he replied, "but I doubt her or Matt would have it any other way."

Sylvie nodded, her grin showing the white of her teeth. She went back to stirring the gumbo with renewed fervor and trying her best to not get tears in the food.

"You should probably try it before you go getting too excited though," she added. "Might have got it wrong."

Remy shook his head. The youngest Dunoix tried to be strong, strong enough for all of them, but it was times like this that he saw her for what she really was. His little sister. A scared teenager doing the best she could to move on, in her own way.

And for the first time in two years, she may have actually _been_ moving on.

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

Later that afternoon, Brandon stood outside the Dunoix Cafe greeting members of the cast and crew of Les Mis as they arrived. Even though Autumn had started to creep up on the town, an uncharacteristically bright sun beat down upon him as it dipped towards the horizon. He almost wished he'd brought his sunglasses.

Something of a tradition now, those past few years Brandon had organised a little pre show get together. And tonight was opening night. Perhaps other directors would have waited for the job to be done and then throw a party, but Brandon preferred to hold one before as well. That way he could get everyone in the same room and on the same page, and address any issues or pre-show jitters in a chilled out setting.

The first to arrive were Scott and Vivia, followed shortly by Will. A little while later Jiona and Asher showed up marking the beginning of a wave of arrivals.

As the group got bigger, Brandon ducked inside and was greeted by a young man who seemed to be dressed like a chef. If he didn't already know the Dunoix family, he might have found it odd to find young Remy, a great cook in his own right, showing people to their seats. At the Cajun Cafe staff turned their hands to whatever was needed of them. Today they must have been short a waitress. That or Remy had drawn the short straw.

"Hey _Monsieur_ Dean," he said in a cheerful voice. "I got your tables set up in back, if y'all are ready?

"Thank you, Remy. I'll go call everyone in."

* * *

Will, Jiona, Vivia and Asher found themselves on a table together. They were sat apart from the main group, and whether by design or happenstance they were thankful for it, considering the topic of their conversation.

"So you know too?"

Taken aback by the sudden interrogation from the usually quiet Asher, Vivia had to take a moment to understand him.

"Y-yeah, I found out the other night…" she replied. She gestured to Will and Jiona. "Scott couldn't help but confront these two about it."

"Austin…" he sighed, "I should have known."

"And hey," she added, toying with a bit of spiced chicken she found too hot for her tastes. "I really should have spotted it wasn't you, you know, back then. I'm really sorry…"

Asher waved it off. "Don't sweat it. Blame Locksley, not yourself."

"No, I mean it… I know you better than that," she said, gabbling slightly, "Like, even if it _was_ Scott pushing your buttons, you're not cruel or anything."

He chuckled. "I mean this in the nicest way possible, but there's a lot you guys don't know about me."

"Heh, you're not exactly an international man of mystery, dude," said Will, a twinkle in his eye.

"Well gee… Thanks for bursting my bubble."

Will grinned. "Don't mention it."

Good food, good company, and the sounds of her friends and cast members enjoying their last night of freedom. For the first time in a long time, Vivia felt she belonged. A love of theatre or at the very least performance had brought them together, such a disparate group who may never have otherwise met.

The meal continued and fun was had by all. For now, everyone involved in the coming night's show forgot their worries and their stage fright.

Nevertheless, as she listened to Will, Asher and Jiona joke amongst themselves, Vivia's brain continued to whir. That show would mark her first public performance as a singer, and it scared her. What if she forgot her lines? What if she hit a bum note and everyone laughed at her?

Jiona must have noticed as she took it upon herself to grab Vivia's attention from across the table. The boys were too engrossed in their own discussion about god knows what to notice.

"You'll be okay," she said, clearly not one for wasting words.

"You sure about that? I really don't have the experience…"

"I promise." Jiona smiled and reached through the table decorations to take her hand. "If you get lost just listen out for me in the band. We will get through this together."

It may have been the fact Jiona rarely put herself out there, content to hide behind her music and let others take the reins, but her sudden heartfelt promise took Vivia by surprise. She never considered anyone could feel that way, not the least Jiona who had struck her as someone who drifted through life letting everything wash past her.

She squeezed the Japanese girl's hand in return. "Thank you."

Now she took a moment, she discovered Jiona had a certain, calming zen about her. Though she didn't believe for a second that the girl didn't have her own problems in life.

A breeze blew across her shoulders telling her the door had been opened to admit another patron. She shivered but paid it no mind, until Asher shot to his feet. His chair tumbled back, but thankfully Will caught it.

Vivia frowned at the outburst. She followed his gaze to the door, to see a second Asher McCullough standing there looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"What the…?"

By that point Scott had joined them, and Will noticeably raised the wrist that held his morpher, however subconsciously.

"It's Locksley," he whispered.

But Asher was already pushing his way through the diners to confront his doppelganger.

"Hey you!"

Locksley pinched the bridge of 'his' nose and sighed. "A miscalculation…"

The doppelganger backed out of the cafe and made a break for it, Asher in hot pursuit. Will looked to Brandon, who gave him a knowing nod in return.

Will and Jiona left to go after Asher, while Brandon, thinking on his feet, climbed onto his chair and called out across the entire cafe. "Everyone, please can I have your attention. That man just now… he is extremely dangerous. If you could all stay inside then-"

Numerous cries of _sod that_ and _who are you supposed_ _to be_ rang throughout the room. They didn't care what Brandon thought, and why would they? Only a handful of them recognised him from the theatre. An unfortunate fact of a modern television-centric life? People didn't go to shows much anymore.

The commotion drew the Dunoix family out of the kitchen. Remy and Sylvie stood by, wearing their aprons and hair nets as an older middle aged woman burst out of a side room with all the fury of a demon.

"QUIET!" roared the woman, known to most as Mama Dunoix, mother of Remy and Sylvie and owner of the cafe. "This gentleman is only trying to help. Y'all feel free to take chance out there with some mad man, but I know where I'd rather be."

Scott appeared by Vivia's side. "That certainly shut them up."

Though many did try to escape, the majority of the cafe's patrons opted to crowd around the windows and watch what was going on outside. Vivia wondered if Mrs Dunoix had scared them silent.

Vivia, Scott, the Dunoix's and many of the waiting staff joined them by the windows.

* * *

Asher made a flying leap and tackled Locksley to the ground. The super-powered thief lost his magical glamour and turned back into his spark form - a monstrous take on the Robin Hood of legend.

"Who do you think you are?" Asher roared. "And why are you doing this to me?

Locksley lay still. " _To_ you? It's funny you think you're _that_ important."

Asher shook the Story Spark User by the shoulders. "I know exactly what you're up to. I already figured that part out. What I care about… is what gives you the right to pick on me?!"

"Opportunity. You're an easy target."

Locksley kicked out and threw Asher clean across the plaza the Cafe bordered on.

From where he was Asher saw Jiona and Will skid to a stop between him and Locksley. They raised their wrists. In a brief burst of coloured energy, they morphed into the white and red ranger respectively.

Calling on some sheer willpower Asher forced himself to stand and survey the situation.

Seeing Locksley's superhuman feat instilled the gathered onlookers with terror. More of the cafe patrons took the chance to flee. It didn't seem as though he was interested in them or Asher, rather, the two power rangers instead. Nevertheless they couldn't take the chance.

* * *

Brandon and the others left the cafe with the tide of people, followed by Remy and his family, but stayed put just outside the entrance. Vivia felt some kind of duty to Asher and as much as she wanted to get to safety she couldn't bring herself to escape just yet.

The red ranger confronted Locksley. "We may have fallen for your trick before, but not this time."

"It's time for you to give back what you stole from us," the white ranger added.

"You've got to be kidding me.." Locksley chuckled and shook his head. "Does asking politely ever work for you hero types?"

He reached into his satchel and drew out the three missing Hero Sparks. They hung limp on his outstretched finger.

"No," he said, "I think this time you're gonna have to come get them yourselves."

Will flexed his hand and balled it into a fist."No problem."

Just as the rangers dropped onto their forward legs to sprint towards their opponent, the Sparks threw themselves out of Locksley's grip and, as if possessed, flew straight at the remaining onlookers.

The villain stumbled. "What the hell?!"

Remy caught one without looking. It glowed a bright blue in his grip. Turning it over in his hand, he revealed a Spartan helmet engraved on its sliver of obsidian.

One look at the morphed red and white rangers told him all he needed to know. He threw his hat and hair net aside and untangled himself from his apron leaving him in just his blue checked shirt and jeans.

He stretched his neck and arms out like an athlete limbering up for a competition. "I've not had a good scrap in weeks."

Vivia's spark flew with such force that the simple act of leaping to catch it threatened to knock her clean over. Nevertheless she kept her footing and bathed in the warming pink glow of the magical bracelet. The obsidian engraving bore the image of a bird of some kind, perhaps a swan.

She snorted in amusement causing Will and Asher to look at her as though she'd grown an extra head. "Hey, all I'm saying? Scott is gonna be majorly ticked off that I get to be a ranger and he doesn't."

The red ranger chuckled but Asher shook his head. "That's what you're taking from all this?"

Asher's spark, already caught, glowed a deep purple, bordering on a blacklight. The engraving on the bracelet depicted an orb sitting above a curving line.

" _Mais_ , yall can talk..." Remy stepped forward. "Are we gonna do this or what?"

"Fine by me," said Asher, joining the rest of them.

Vivia shrugged. "Sounds good."

With the sparks firmly on their wrists, they each raised their right arm across their chest and touched the obsidian slivers with the middle and index fingers of their opposite hand. The blue, black and pink energy that burst from the sparks blinded Locksley and the flying monkeys.

When it died down _five_ power rangers stood before him instead of the usual two.

Seeing as there was no time like the present, they decided to indulge themselves.

"Telsa Spark. Red Ranger!" said Will, leading the impromptu role call.

Jiona followed. "Okuda Spark. White Ranger!"

The three newest rangers looked at each other, still reveling in the feeling of morphing for the first time. Asher shrugged, as if to say, ' _might as well_ ' and as though buoyed by the sense of power the spark had given her, Vivia started them off.

"Nightingale Spark. Pink Ranger!"

She didn't know how she knew what to say, but it felt right. She knew it to be true. As off putting as knowing the soul of Florence Nightingale resided in her spark was, it didn't bother her in that moment. Vivia was more amazed by how good being a ranger felt.

"Einstein Spark," said Asher, simply, "Black Ranger!"

"Leonidas Spark. Blue Ranger!"

Remy struck a pose like some sort of pro wrestler. Vivia could tell from his voice he enjoyed the moment far too much, like a man born with overflowing showmanship.

* * *

Brandon grinned from the safety of the cafe parking lot, resisting the urge to announce his excitement with a fist pump or vocal outburst. To his left stood Scott who, perhaps _too_ predictably, had also elected to stay behind.

To his right stood Sylvie Dunoix and her mother. The shock on the faces was plain to see. He couldn't imagine what watching your son and brother become a ranger made them feel, but something about the gathering of a team of five gave him hope. He couldn't begin to imagine how far Enigma would go with his schemes or what his endgame was, but with a full team like this he felt they at least stood a chance.

* * *

 **::PRTS::**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

So... when I was planning this arc, I thought I'd get to a resolution sooner, much sooner. As it is new situations, new characters, and the seeds of potential future arcs keep jumping out at me! I'm sorry if I leave you guys on any agonising cliff hangers over the next however many chapters. Apparently I can't stop myself!

As a big side note though, thank you to everyone whose expressed interest in this. It's turning into one hell of project!

That being said, I'd like to ask you for a few more submissions. Namely, I need some "monsters of the week" (template below).

These are normal humans who have been given / loaned a story spark by Enigma. They keep their human forms and can switch to their monster side at will, but their personalities are twisted somewhat by the darkness. They don't have to be evil-evil, if you know what mean. They can just be flawed individuals forced or blackmailed into serving Enigma, or indeed doing it out of their own free will. Their powers can come from any character/concept/monster/whatever from any work fiction you fancy, and they don't even have to be evil in that story's universe. For example, the one MotW submission I've had so far is based on Superman.

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Gender:**

 **Occupation:**

 **Story Spark:**

 **Spark Powers:**

 **Background:**

Thanks guys! I look forward to seeing what you come up with. In meantime I'll go back to working on the next chapter. I'm over half way through... I think!


	5. Part 3: At the Barricade

**POWER RANGERS TWIN SPARK**

 **Chapter 04:** "Part 3: At the Barricade"

"And Enigma thought this would be an easy job…" Locksley threw his cap at the ground in frustration. "What a steaming load!"

Unfortunately for Locksley he now had five rangers to contend with rather than a measly two.

Asher didn't know how well they'd do all things considered-being nothing more than a techy, a singer, a chef, a musician and an actor-but stranger things could happen. Any amount of instinctual skill imparted by the magic of the Hero Sparks paled in comparison to honest to goodness combat training… but they didn't have a choice. Locksley had to pay for his crimes.

A hoard of flying monkeys dropped from the skies and rushed the rangers, hoping to catch them off guard, but the rangers were ready for them.

While the pink ranger seemed to rely on avoiding as many attacks as possible, Blue almost invited the monkeys to strike at him. He'd lure them in then cut them down with the practiced ease of a seasoned fighter. Maybe the black ranger had underestimated the chef.

Turning to deal with his own gaggle of flying monkeys, it was as though hundreds of possible moves and scenarios played out across his vision. Like a bizarre sense of deja vu, he saw an attack coming then found himself reacting before the villainous minion had chance to counter.

Before he realised what had happened he'd downed seven flying monkeys, but then his new six sense cut out and hit him with a eye-blurringly bad headache. The blue ranger saw him falter and moved to cover him, flipping one monkey on to his back and jabbing it in the throat with a swift strike of the palm.

"You good?"

The black ranger nodded, feeling the headache ebb. "Yeah… just not used to these powers yet."

"Tell me about it!" the Cajun replied, leaping back into battle almost immediately.

Will unleashed an arc of lightning incinerating his contingent of monkeys in one go, while Jiona did much the same with a violent whip of energy summoned by her shakuhachi. The pair then advanced on Locksley, silently entrusting the remainder of the chattering minions to their new team mates.

"I'd call this plan of yours a failure," said the Red ranger.

Locksley had a dagger drawn but didn't seem interested in using it. "A minor set back, but I wouldn't be so quick to write me off, Red. There are more sparks out there than the five you lot have kept from me."

"For example." Light glinted off the thumbnail of obsidian as it tumbled from his other hand. "Awaken… the Pale Man!"

Acrid black smoke burst from the Story Spark. It hung in the air for a moment before collapsing and condensing to form a humanoid figure well over six foot tall. In keeping with his name the creature had pale almost translucent skin and appeared to be completely blind.

The Pale Man lift his closed fists up to his face.

"What is this beast?" said Jiona.

The red ranger readied himself. "It's uh from a Spanish language film called Pan's Labyrinth…"

He knew the Pale Man well however and wondered just how closely it would resemble the creature in the film. They could be in big trouble.

The monster sniffed the air as though searching for them, then fanned out his hands revealing eyes stuck in the palms of his hands. It let out an unearthly roar.

"That's just wrong," said Remy. Having finished of the monkeys the other rangers joined them.

"As much as I enjoy watching you squirm…" Locksley produced a small cupcake with the words 'eat me' elegantly written in it's icing. "I think this will prove a far more worthy challenge."

He handed the Pale Man the cupcake and took a step back, followed by another.

"I'll be leaving you, rangers," he said, as the monster eagerly devoured the cake, "for now."

The rangers caught on in the knick of time as the Pale Man grew giant. His bulk filled most of the car park and square, but narrowly avoided crushing the cafe, much to everyone's relief.

Brandon took charge of getting Scott and the remaining spectators to safety, leaving the rangers to face the giant. Somehow…

"Isn't this the point where most rangers call on their megazord?" said Remy, as they tried to put some distance between them and the Pale Man.

"Uh huh," replied Will. He looked around for anything that could help them and tried to formulate some kind of plan.

"And do we have-?"

"Nope."

"Ah, _merde…_ "

The Pale Man tried to bring his foot down on them, but the rangers rolled out of the way and dashed for cover in the narrow alley between two nearby buildings. As they stopped to catch their breath and formulate a plan, the giant monster seemed to give up on finding them and turned, heading towards the town's outskirts.

Vivia peered out from their hiding place. "Uh, I guess he's not that hungry?"

"We can't just leave him roaming around the countryside looking for children to eat!" said Asher.

"And what could we possibly do to stop him?!" added Remy.

"Shut up a moment," snapped Will. "I'm trying to think."

He squeezed his eyes shut, for just a moment. A flash of formless inspiration stuck. Brief glimpses of indistinct images. He opened his eyes, took a breath and tried again.

Jiona, concerned for her teammate's well being, touched him on the shoulder. "WIll? Are you okay?"

"Shh." He shrugged her away and did his best to block out all noise and distraction.

The images came back, clearer this time. Blueprints, technical drawings, jumbled up images of interlocking machinery on the microscale. It took him awhile to process what he saw, but then it struck him. It was as though instructions for constructing zords were playing out for him in front of his mind's eye. Given the chance, and maybe a few pointers from someone with more experience, he was fairly confident he could build them.

The only question was; where could he find such a person?

"Will. Seriously. What's up?" said Vivia.

"Well…" he replied, slowly, "I think I know how we can get ourselves a megazord."

Taken aback, Asher frowned. "How?"

"That's the bit you're not going to like so much…" Will turned to face them. "I think my spark powers have shown me how to build our zords."

"Oh…" said Asher, catching on fast.

"Yeah… We've got no time and I've got no idea where to begin."

Remy sighed. "We're screwed."

A car screeched to a halt on the street outside the ranger's hiding place. A door was shoved open presumably for their benefit.

"Get in!" shouted Brandon from the driver's seat.

While the others rushed for the safety of their older friend's vehicle, Vivia hesitated. "But… we're the power rangers. We can't just retreat… can we?"

Remy stuck his head out of the closest rear door. "Cher, a good fighter knows when to back off and when to attack. If we fall here, Tamway will have no one."

The pink ranger sighed. He had a point, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She clambered in and watched the hulking form of the Pale Man lead a trail of destruction through the town, as Brandon gunned the engine.

She really hoped they wouldn't have to deal with Les Mis after what had just happened. For that matter… who would deal with the giant monster in their absence? She could only hope another team of rangers were watching.

Otherwise, barring some kind of deus ex machina, Tamway was screwed.

 **::PRTS::**

Riddle, the monstrous humanoid assistant of Enigma, ran as fast as he could down the streets of Tamway towards the Pale Man. For such a huge beast, it could move at one heck of a pace.

It was times like these that Riddle was thankful for the Smeagol story spark. It rarely helped, but at least it made him agile. His lithe, if scrawny, body and a keen clambering ability allowed him to leap over obstacles and keep pace with the giant.

 _Why do we have to do this? It's Locksley's mess!_

"Because," he said, berating the voice in his head.

 _Why?_

"Because it's what Enigma _wants_ us to do."

 _Why?_

"Shut up!"

Shinning up a fire escape, Riddle hooked his arm through the bars and hung over the edge. He produced a crude sling shot from his back pocket and loaded a small vial of dark liquid. Just as he was about to fire he hesitated. He shook his head and and ripped a small tag reading 'Drink Me' from vial.

 _Cute._

"I said shut up! I need to concentrate…"

The voice in his head obeyed, thankfully, so he took aim once more and launched the drink me potion at the Pale Man. It splashed across the creature's back, but he gave no indication of noticing.

"What did you just do, Riddle?"

"Oh my g- I thought I told you to stop talking so mu-" He pause half way through his sentence when he realised his mistake.

It wasn't the voice in his head talking but a very pissed off Locksley hanging over the roof ledge. "Oh hi, man, how's it going?"

Behind them the Pale Man shrunk first to human size then back into the sliver of obsidian that was his story spark.

Locksley knocked an arrow into his bow and aimed at Riddle who still hung from the metal fire escape. "I said _what do you think you are doing_?"

Riddle gulped. "... Only doing what Enigma told us to do. I'm not trying to make life difficult for you. You know we'd never do that."

Locksley pulled back the bow string. "I'll give you a head start."

"Huh?"

"Get running."

 **::PRTS::**

Riddle stumbled into Enigma's office in human form, tattered jacket sleeves and a bloody nose speaking volumes. He shot a look over his shoulders before addressing his boss.

"Locksley …" he breathed, "He's … he's come to see you."

Enigma growled and shifted into his Moriarty form. "What does that _fool_ want?"

Riddle opened his mouth to reply, but decided to make himself scarce when Locksley charged into the room also in human form.

"Where's that idiot who shrunk my monster gotten to now? I'm going to tear him a new one for ruining my plans!"

" _Your_ plans, Mr Russell?" sneered Enigma, "I wasn't aware I gave you permission to enact your own schemes."

"Blast you and your master plan, Enigma!" Locksley spat, "I had them on the ropes. They've got absolutely no defense against a giant opponent!"

Enigma surged forward across the office and threw a super-powered punch into the man's gut, doubling him over in pain.

"How _dare_ you question me?!" said the wolf-like Story Spark user. "If I'd wanted to kill them or flatten the town, I would have done so myself."

Locksley, once known as Ethan Russell, collapsed to the floor. He was an average looking man; someone you could walk past on the street every day for twenty years and never suspect as a hardened criminal. Try as he might, he couldn't speak.

"No," Enigma continued, "The story cannot end like that…"

"S-story…?" croaked Locksley. "Seriously?"

"Do you think I have to explain myself to you? _You_ , a petty thief?" He snorted in derision and lowered himself to the fallen villain's level. "You are nothing. The only reason you've lasted this long in my employment is the Spark that _I_ loaned you."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm sorry," Enigma snarled, "What was that?"

"You are an idiot," he said, slower.

Enigma grabbed the front of Locksley's shirt and hauled him to his feet. "Just because you don't have the brains to comprehend what I'm doing you assume I'm an imbecile? You have no _idea_ what I'm capable of!"

"Leave him be, Tom." Mirage sighed as she entered the room.

He threw Locksley to the ground and allowed him to regroup. "Gwen?"

"He's too pretty to be broken," she added. "Leave him be."

Locksley sniggered and used the corner of Enigma's desk to stand up right. "There's no organisation here. It's pathetic."

He shifted into his Robin Hood spark form and stretched his aching muscles. "Call me when you know what you want out of this arrangement. Then we'll talk like adults."

Using his heightened speed, Locksley dashed out of the door, leaving Enigma alone with a grinning Mirage.

"Why do you always undermine me?" He said with a sigh.

Sliding across the floor, avoiding the splatters of blood, she flopped down onto her usual sofa.

"You know why… you knew Locksley would pull this kind of stunt eventually. So you used him to test out your little theory about the sparks," she said, "Besides, we needed to test out my cakes too, so there's always that."

"Hmmm… I suppose you have a point."

"Don't I always?"

A few moments passed. Enigma shifted back into Thomas Greene. He thought for second, before narrowing his eyes at his sister. "You spent the entire day baking didn't you?"

"It's for a good cause." She shrugged, "What's it to you?"

He shook his head. "Fine. Since you didn't think to get the groceries, _again_ , we'll get take out."

"As long as you're paying, dear brother."

 **::PRTS::**

Brandon pulled into his driveway, shut the car off and leaned forward to rest his head on the steering wheel. He sighed. He couldn't lie; seeing his rangers so close to defeat had shaken him. They weren't superheroes to him, they were, in some cases at least, people he'd known for half their lives.

Locksley growing his monster ally to giant proportions felt distinctly like checkmate, as much as he wanted to deny it. How could they combat such a threat?

The wrap of knuckles against his driver side window made him jump out of his skin. He whirled around to see a middle aged man perhaps a little older than him in an expensive suit and horn-rimmed glasses motioning for him to get out of the car.

Struck dumb by the surprise of it all, he complied. "Can I help you?"

The man smiled. "Well… It's more a case of can _I_ help _you_?"

Wary of the man, Brandon locked his car and stepped away a pace. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

"I know you must be concerned, but I promise I mean you no harm," he said.

Brandon notice two other men in suits with earpieces in their ears standing a few metres away. The three of them had a little pin in their lapel, a H in a strange font. They looked like government men. Secret service perhaps.

"My name is Dr William Cranston," the man said. "I know you're involved with this town's new ranger team, and I have a proposition for you."

"I don't … I don't know what you're talking about," lied Brandon.

"I'm a busy man Mr Dean, so don't try and lie to me," Dr Cranston's expression fell to a frown, "Ordinarily I'd have one of my subordinates meet with a man such as yourself, but considering the serious situation we find ourselves in I thought it prudent to deal with this personally."

Dr Cranston gestured to one of his bodyguards. He brought over a tablet pc and set a video playing of the giant monster stomping through the town, the rangers helpless at its feet, and a tiny Brandon Dean rushing to their aid.

"Now. We both know your rangers are in trouble, and I'd like to _help_ , if you'll let me." With his point made he handed the tablet back and folded his arms. "I trust we're on the same page?"

"Yeah… but who are you people?"

" 'We people' are classified," he replied, "All you need to know for the moment is I have resources at my disposal that you might find useful."

Brandon studied the man closely. He could sense a hint of a double edged sword creeping into view. "So you figured you'd butt in and strike a deal? This is a personal matter. It's nothing the government need to be concerned with."

"We know of your relationship to Thomas and Gwendolyn Greene, but I can assure you I'm not with the government."

Cranston walked back towards his bodyguards as he continued, "Because time is of the essence, I'm going to be frank. Your rangers need a megazord and I happen to have a spare giant robot laying around."

He spun back to face Brandon. The practiced smile returned. "So, how about we see if we can come to some kind of arrangement?"

If he hadn't before, now Brandon felt he was being strong armed. As much as having use of a zord would help the rangers if the Pale Man ever returned, he knew there would a hidden catch.

"If you're not the government, then who are you? I'm not discussing anything until you're honest with me."

Dr Cranston sighed, glanced at his wrist, then back. "Well, looks like I'm going to need a different approach with you..."

He closed the gap between them quicker than Brandon could react to and grabbed him by the shoulder. Revealing a shiny metallic wrist watch device on his arm, the pair of were whisked away in a blue/white column of energy.

In the next instant, Brandon found himself in a truly cavernous hanger full of workers, noise and the distinct smell of grease and ongoing engineering work.

He stepped over to a railing and a panel of red painted metal that had caught his eye. Only as he tracked the panel upwards did he realise he was standing on a raised walkway part of the way up a giant robot approximately 40-50 foot tall, with a winged motif on its head.

It's body work was mainly red, with flashes of white and yellow throughout, with hard points on the arms and legs for some unknown attachment. To Brandon it looked surprisingly thin and mobile for a machine it's size.

Brandon gasped. He'd never seen anything like it.

"This is Valkyrie-1" said Dr Cranston, "Now … about that deal we need to make."

 **::PRTS::**

The weekend came in no time at all and, as it wasn't a theatre night, the rangers decided the day would be better spent if they hung out together. For those who had homework assignments, it was a welcome distraction and for other an excuse to bond as a team.

Will, Vivia, Asher and Jiona decided to meet at the cafe for lunch. They timed it just right, so that Remy could join them on his break.

"This was a great idea," said Vivia, finishing up her warm salad. "Especially since it gets me away from my nonna's nagging about socialising with people older than me…"

"She's probably just looking out for you," said Will. "My parents were like that a first when I joined RamDram, but then they figured it was as good a hobby as any and left me to it."

Remy chuckled. "Hey, no matter what anyone tells you, y'all are welcome here, anytime. Your friends, too, if they want."

"Now your just trying to drum up business," said Asher.

"Can't blame a guy for trying!"

Remy's mother rushed out of the kitchen, red in the face. He sprung to his feet, half expecting to be told his break was over, when he noticed the panic in her eyes and the mobile phone clutched in her hand.

"Sylvie just rang from the house," she panted, "That monster is back again!"

The rangers nodded and went with some trepidation to face their fate.

 **::PRTS::**

Following Sylvie's directions, the rangers tracked the Pale Man down to the Tamway's outskirts and the beginning of the Eagle Park estate. The five fought their way against the crowd of fleeing residents to find the aforementioned giant tearing the roofs off of houses looking for something.

Vivia who knew people who lived in Eagle Park covered her mouth in shock and disgust. "What the-"

"I guess he's looking for lunch?" said Remy with a shrug.

Jiona looked away, while Asher bopped him on the head. "Not the time, dude."

Quick as a flash, Remy grabbed Asher's wrist and twisted, forcing his teammate to the ground. Although he took special care to be a gentle as possible, it looked as though his consideration would go unappreciated. The tall Irishman broke the wrist lock and shoved Remy away.

"Hey!" Will stepped between the pair. "Seriously?"

Remy held up his hands in surrender. "Just a reflex. Chill."

"Reflex my ass!"

"Stop it," said Will, firmly.

Having been silent up until now, Jiona spoke up to remind them of the job at hand. "Are we going to try and lead the _kaiju_ away from the houses now?"

"Right…"

"Let's get it over with..."

" **Hero Sparks, Ignite!** "

Swiping their hands over their respective sparks, the rangers summoned their armour, even though they had no idea how they were going to get through this one.

Before they could formulate a plan, laughter alerted them to the presence of someone else. They turned to see Locksley leaning against a tree in a nearby front yard. He started a slow clap.

"I've gotta give it to you. At least you're persistent."

"Locksley," said the red ranger, "What's your plan here?"

The story spark users scoffed. "My god, you are _so_ dumb… Tell you what. Since you keep asking, so politely, I'll humour you!"

He pushed away from the tree and walked towards them.

"Unlike every other wannabe villain this world has seen since the nineties, I'm not a raving idiot. It's time someone went all out from the start and my friend over there," he gestured to the Pale Man, who still tore through houses but had yet to find anything to satisfy his craving, "is here to destroy you, _before_ you learn work as team, _or_ have time to find a convenient power up."

Will cringed behind his nearly-opaque visor. Although the red ranger didn't know enough to comment on the motives of previous super villains, he knew Locksley had a point… but how had a thief gone from stealing hero sparks to mindless destruction? What was the end game?

"And since I know you're wondering, Red, once I've gotten rid of you I can take your sparks for myself. Enigma is a fool if he thinks mind games are gonna work here."

Calling on the power of the Tesla spark, Will's fist began to crackle with lightning. "It's one thing to target us, but another to attack innocent people."

Locksley held up a finger. "I'm just going to stop you there... Today ain't day we fight. You're _his_ snack, after all."

The villain dashed away in the blink of an eye.

"Damn it," Will hissed in frustration.

"Don't worry," said Jiona, "If we get through this, we're going after him next."

WIll nodded. "I know."

He could wait to get his hands on such a ruthless criminal like Locksley. Stealing the sparks was personal, but escalating the fight like this was unforgivable.

As he dug through the contents of another house, the Pale Man turned one his hands towards them and caught sight of them with the unblinking eye in the palm of his hand.

"Aaaand now he's seen us…" said Remy. "Any genius plans, _capitaine_?"

"I… uh…"

"Yeah, I've got nothing either..."

"I guess we should just... get his undivided attention, and run?" said Vivia, offering her thoughts.

"That'll have to do," agreed Will.

The Pale Man smashed through the wall of the house with his fist and turned to face them with an unearthly roar.

A crackling pulled their attention from their ramshackle plan momentarily. They turned to see Brandon materialise from a column of colourless energy.

"Guys, wait!" He ran to them and clapped a device around Will's wrist. "I think this might help."

The Pale Man roared once more and took an Earth-shaking step closer. He seemed more curious than bloodthirsty, though whether that would save them was uncertain at best.

"There's no time to explain," said Brandon, "Just hit the top button and you'll see what I mean."

"Uh…" WIll hesitated. "Okay?"

Brandon ushered the others to give the red ranger some space. Will studied the device attached to wrist. It was maining red with panels of white and yellow and sported a series of three buttons along its length. The words _Valkyrie System Summoner_ could be seen on both its sides.

"Here goes nothing." He pushed the button Brandon had shown him with his gloved thumb and held the summoner skyward.

At first nothing happened, but a rumbling pulled their eyes upward to see a robot about as massive as the giagantified Pale Man descend from above.

Matching the colour of it's summoning device, the robot, or _zord_ rather, had the look of a norse warrior… if said norse warrior had a transported to the far future and given a few upgrades, it brandished a pair of axes.

" _Mais,_ that thing is _awesome_ awesome," said impressed Remy.

"Hit the second button and you'll be able to control it," added Brandon.

"Right."

Doing as he was told, Will found him vision went red for a moment. When it cleared he stood in a control room of some sort with a wide screen viewer in front of him. From the perspective alone, he could tell he'd been transported inside the zord.

" _Valkyrie_ ," he corrected himself.

The appearance of the new zord seemed to enrage the Pale Man. The beast whirled around and grappled with the Valkyrie. It grip was nothing to sniff at, but Will, after discovering that his movements within the cockpit translated to what the zord did, managed to shrug his way out and counterattack with one of the axes.

With the monster knocked back the Valkyrie slotted it's axes into ports on it's back and launched forward on the thrusters built into its feet. Hitting the Pale Man in the stomach, Will urged the zord to lift him up into the air. The grappling combatants soared away from Eagle Park and into the fields and eventually desert that surrounded Tamway. The Valkyrie shifted the Pale Man in flight and twisted into a kind of flying pile driver and rammed him into the ground.

Will landed the zord a safe distance away and watched to see if his opponent would recover.

Although worse for wear, it didn't take long for the monster to clamber to its feet.

"Damn… The least you could do is stay down."

The Pale Man roared once more and leaped at the Valkyrie, but this time either he was running out of energy or Will's reflexes were improving. With a simple twist, the Valkyrie sidestepped it's opponent. The Pale Man slammed into the ground, tearing a huge gash through the landscape.

A voice came through Will's helmet with a slight crackle. It was Brandon. "Hit the third button twice to activate Valkyrie-1's finishing strike."

Though he wondered how Brandon was speaking to him, Will pushed the thought aside to focus on the battle at hand. He hit the specified button twice and dropped into a ready stance not knowing what to expect.

Valkyrie-1 drew it's twin axes once more and flowed in line with Will's movements. A large charge of energy seemed to be building up within both weapons.

The red ranger grinned. "Time to write an ending to this tale."

The zord lashed out with two fast slashes in the direction of its enemy. A red x-shaped blast of energy roared forth and smashed into the Pale Man just as he struggled to his feet. The Finishing Strike lived up to its name, proving too much for the giant monster, who fell backward and exploded in a blinding flash of light.

"... 'bout time," said Will.

Taking an educated guess, the red ranger pressed the middle button on the Summoner and teleported back into Eagle Park. Without a pilot, the Valkyrie took to the skies, flying just high enough that Will couldn't tell where it was going, or indeed from where it had come.

 **::PRTS::**

Back in Eagle Park, Will rematerialised to cheers of congratulation from his teammates.

"Nicely done," said Brandon, clapping him on the back.

"Yeah, that was rad," added Asher, for once forgetting the distance he seemed to put between himself and his friends.

Will, however, had too much on his mind to celebrate with the others. He turned to face Brandon head on.

"Where did this Valkyrie thing come from? I _know_ we don't have zords."

"Well…"

Brandon told them about his meeting with Dr Cranston and the offer the mysterious man had made. Though the rangers were grateful for the assistance, they couldn't help but question the doctor's intentions. Despite being a weird situation to begin with, no one handed out giant robots without expecting something in return.

"You know what?" said Vivia, eventually, "I'm beat... Anyone else want to call it a day?"

The rangers and their mentor broke out into laughter.

"Okay, okay…" the teenager said, "An understatement, right?"

Brandon shook his head.

"I'm proud of you, all of you, you've save a lot of lives today. But even superheroes need to take a break."

With that agreed, the rangers powered down, and wondered how they were each going to get home.

 **::PRTS::**

Later that day, as night fell on Tamway, Brandon pulled up to his house on the other side of town. He felt guilty thinking it, but he was glad he didn't live in Eagle Park. The property damage, the innocent people left without a home… If anything the fight proved the need for a team of power rangers. If he'd been just a few seconds late getting the Valkyrie System Summoner to Will who knows what could have happened.

Getting out of the car he felt a presence, and spun around to see none other than Dr Cranston once more occupying the driveway along with his two bodyguards.

"I trust your rangers found Valkyrie-1 useful?"

"Cranston…" he said, narrowing his eyes. "We really should stop meeting like this."

"Please, call me Billy." The doctor chuckled. "You know … I could always teleport you out of bed and straight to my office, but I figured you'd prefer to keep things more low-key."

"Why are you here?"

Dr Cranston paused for a moment, either considering his options or pausing for dramatic effect. "We need to go over a few ground rules if your rangers are to continue using my zord."

"And what are they?"

He gestured towards Brandon's front door, "Perhaps we could discuss this inside? I'd hate for any unscrupulous eavesdroppers to overhear."

Brandon nodded. "Fine, but don't get comfortable."

 **::PRTS::**

Out in the desert, beyond the Tamway town limit, a cloaked-hooded figure picked through the smoking crater left in the wake of the battle between the Pale Man and the Power Rangers. Eventually finding what he was searching for, the figure began to laugh, quietly at first but escalating into a maniacal roar of sheer joy.

He threw back his hood and lift his prize into the air. "There you are... my precious."

In his hand he held what was left of the Pale Man's story spark, with it's palm-and-eye engraving. It glowed with a spluttering, weak energy.

Riddle grinned. "It's a good thing Enigma and Locksley have no idea what you can _really_ do, otherwise we'd have a fight on our hands. Wouldn't we?"

As he clutched the spark in his hands and admired it's terrible beauty, it seemed to slowly repair itself.

He laughed once more. "If they can plan and scheme, then so can we."

 **::PRTS::**

 **Authors Note:**

How about that then?! I'd say things are heating up, wouldn't you?

I'm gonna keep this A/N short for a change. I'm still looking for some more monsters, especially one for the next chapter. So anyone who's promised a submission, or anyone who fancies trying their hand at making me an awesome Story Spark monster, I looked forward to it!

On that note, the next chapter may take a little longer for me to finish up. I need to do some planning, and I want to try and get the next chapter of the much neglected Wild Masquerade up before I die of old age lol

Peace out!


	6. Surreal

**A/n: Hey! Been awhile. A long while. Sorry! But here's a nice long chapter to make up for it. Lots of little plot threads being laid out here for later too.**

 **Enjoy the speculation!**

* * *

 **Chapter 05** \- "Surreal"

* * *

Another weekend had arrived for the town of Tamway. While the weather finally started to look a little more like fall, many used it as a chance to get some last minute gardening done before winter settled in. Others took it as a much needed break from a sweaty summer that had overstayed its welcome.

Mayor Gatto had issued a strict curfew in the wake of the Pale Man incident, but as it was the middle of the day the kids of Tamway took every chance they could to make the most of it. In a quiet cul-de-sac in the neighbourhood of Belmont, a game of street soccer was in full swing. A older gentleman, out in his front yard with his trowel, occasionally yelled at the youngsters for getting their ball to close to his plant pots. They paid him no attention.

Although all of this and more could be heard from one garage in particular, it's occupant, Guilherme Alvarez de Almeida, was too engrossed in his task to notice.

Although Will loved his dad Roberto, the man didn't understand him all that well. He'd have rather seen his only son outside, hanging out with friends, being a young man, not tinkering around with electronics in a dark and dingy garage. He also struggled to understand Will's love of acting, but begrudgingly let it be, knowing how much joy it brought him. His mum Claudia and her new wife Beth on the other hand were more than happy to indulge him. His biological mum didn't have much of a mind for technology but Beth was a software developer and took every chance she could to encourage the amateur inventor she'd come to think of as her son.

Convinced he had the house to himself for a few hours, Will buried himself in a new project. Safety goggles in place, he soldered a few more links into a circuit board. Next to him lay what seemed to be the casing for an oversized novelty watch, although on closer inspection one might find that it didn't have a clock face at all.

Not long after the fight against the Pale Man using Valkyrie-1, Will's spark power-the blueprints that sometimes played in his mind's eye-had dictated something else to him. At a glance it seemed like a copy of the summoner he'd used to call the zord into battle, but the more he worked on it the more a variety of different possibilities showed themselves.

The rangers didn't need any equipment per se (apart from a full set of zords perhaps) but he'd realised that morning that what he had been working on was a morpher. On its side was a small slot which he gathered would fit their hero sparks if they took them off the bracelets they were currently attached to.

He hoped to add teleportation and communication functions, one day. Unfortunately he didn't know where to begin without studying the summoner in some detail. Brandon had taken it off him saying that their secret benefactor, whoever he was, wanted it back for repairs. Will didn't know how true any of that was, but he didn't like to bite the hand that feeds.

~What you working on, Shirley?~

Will spun around on his stool, brandishing his soldering iron like weapon.

~Whoa... put the tools down… just an innocent question, officer.~

Lucia, the youngest of his older sisters, was a pain in the ass perpetually clad in flannel shirts. Knowing he hadn't been expecting to see her that weekend, she no doubt made it her mission to scare the living daylights out of him. She also liked to call him girl's names. He had no idea why, and had long since given up on arguing.

~Sorry,~ he replied, replacing the iron on its base and putting his safety goggles aside.

They often spoke to each in Portuguese; a habit that started as foreign transfer students trying to outwit American school kids, but soon bled over into other parts of their life. Their oldest sister Vanda still called them dorks for it, but only because she hadn't spoken a full sentence in years.

~So what is it?~ She said, ~Trying to solve third world hunger again?~

Will played along. ~Nah, I hit a dead end with that. This is a prop for a play.~

He didn't like lying to Lucia, but he had very few options available.

~If this is what Les Mis looks like, I might just come and see your lame musical after all.~ She grinned.

~Hah hah...~ He started to put away his tools. ~No, this is for something else. Besides with the curfew… we can't really put on too many shows right now.~

Lucia frowned. ~That sucks.~

~You don't like theatre. Why do you care?~

~I like that you like it, Beryl~ she said, ~and hey, I've got to stay in your good books for when you become a Hollywood big shot.~

Will raised an eyebrow. ~So in that situation you assume I'd just give you money?~

Lucia scoffed. ~Please, we both know I'm your favourite sister.~

He moved the unfinished morpher into a padded carry case and locked it.

He finally turned back to face his sister, wearing an impassive expression. ~Are you sure about that?~

~Ooo… so cold-blooded.~

Will chuckled. ~So what's going on with you?~

~Oh nothing~ she said, ~Just wanted to catch up.~

~Fair enough~, he replied. ~How's life?~

* * *

Meanwhile in the centre of town, Scott Austin stopped outside his favourite comic book store.

Sure the Matrix Comix in Leeford had the bigger range and the bigger shop, but he knew the owner of the Lucky Traveller too well to jump ship. Mr Kruger, so the story goes, had once taken pity on a young Scott and given him an issue of the Mighty Mamba free of charge. Ever since that early discovery he'd been hooked.

Today was the day they got their new stock and the first day he could pick up any new comics that had been put to one side for him. He knew people called him lame for enjoying it as much as he did. He had ears after all. Nonetheless nothing could dampen the pure childlike joy of new comic day. Not even someone from school spotting him and teasing him mercilessly until graduation.

With a grin on his face he stepped across the threshold. He let out a contented sigh at the light tinkling of the bell suspended over the door, and took in the inviting smell of paper and ink.

"Welcome back, traveller," said the ponytailed man behind the counter, "I was just thinking to myself 'I haven't seen that Austin kid yet today'."

Scott chuckled and headed straight for Kruger, a man in his early forties. "What have you got for me today?"

"I have issue #12 of The Gifted," he said, passing one comic at a time, fresh in its protective sleeve, across the counter. "Then we've got a classic, near mint Spider-Man... And finally the very latest Mighty Mamba."

Sliding the others to one side, Scott went straight for the last one on his list. His tastes changed year in year out, but one stalwart remained. The Mighty Mamba; the first comic book he'd ever read, and his all time favourite. He'd stuck with Mamba when many hadn't, even during it's creator's unfortunate political phase.

"Its kids like you what brighten my day, Scott," said Kruger, shaking his head. "You read some real garbage but it's always good to see a satisfied customer."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Oh give over, I've caught you reading Mamba before. And besides I've seen your Drake Gordon autograph too. You can't lie to me, old man!"

The store owner let out a roar of laughter. "You're alright, kid, you're alright."

The laughter died away to an awkward silence during which Scott realised he was the only customer in the shop.

"Busy weekend?"

"Not really, Scott…" Kruger turned away to organise a handwritten receipt for the three comic books. "You know business ain't what it used to be."

"At least you'll still have me stinking up the place," said Scott, trying to offer what little measure of comfort he could.

"Too true." Kruger handed him a plastic bag and the receipt and waited to be paid. "The day you stop coming in here to pester me is the day pigs fly."

Scott smiled and handed over the money he'd earned mowing the lawn for his dad. He happened to glance out the front window for a split second and caught an odd flicker of movement. Not registering it as anything out of the ordinary, he turned back to his longtime friend.

"In that case, if I'm not in here this time next weekend feel free to organise a search party."

"Will do."

Giving Mr Kruger a farewell nod, Scott bagged his comics and headed for the door. He caught the movement from earlier once more, but this time he had a better vantage point.

No longer on his periphery, a fat pink pig drifted lazily over his head.

Scott blinked.

"Now that can't be right…"

He followed the pig as it floated further down the street and joined a few others that were orbiting around a single man. Other bystanders had stopped to watch the strange spectacle alongside Scott.

The man had a shorter than average stature and wore a purple and orange bowler hat. Looking closer Scott realised this man wasn't entirely human. Ignoring the fact he could command a hoard of flying pigs-apparently-his face was mask-like, frozen and twisted into an unmoving impish grin.

"Now this is what I call a plot twist!" the man cackled.

Scott ducked out of the crowd to a more secluded area of the street, and got out his phone. Knowing he didn't have all the rangers numbers he dialled the only person he could, Vivia.

" _Scott? What's up_?" She sounded like she wasn't expecting a call from anyone let alone him.

"There's trouble downtown, near the Lucky Traveller. Think you could get the rangers together?"

" _We'll be right there. Hold tight… and don't do anything stupid!_ "

* * *

The rangers arrived already morphed to find Sir Real and his floating pigs harassing anyone they could. Thankfully most people had the sense to flee when they had the chance.

"That's enough of your games," said Will.

The diminutive Story Spark monster turned to them and chuckled, "And the heroes arrive! You certainly took your time."

Beneath his helmet, Remy rolled his eyes. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not to worry," Sir Real replied, "A classic story takes it's time to unfold after all. But since you're here… Monkeys! Attack!"

Enigma's foot soldiers, the flying monkeys of the Wizard of Oz fame, dropped down from above catching the rangers off guard.

Vivia found herself restrained by two Monkeys while a third laid into the pink ranger with punches to the stomach. A quick glance told her the others were too occupied with their own battles to help her.

As she struggled, getting more and more frustrated with feeling so helpless, she unknowing activated one of her spark powers. A cloud of green gas burst from her hands almost immediately getting into the Monkeys lungs. They coughed and choked, and were forced to let go. She delivered a quick sweep of the leg to all three and knocked them to the floor.

"Grazie, Miss Nightingale," she said, thanking the soul in her hero spark, "But… _eww_!"

Meanwhile, the blue ranger had also activated one of his spark powers. Hefting a car above his head with ease, he flung it at the group of Monkeys attacking him. But as the vehicle left his hands he felt its weight come back in an instant. It didn't fly as far as he wanted but it did the trick, crushing them beneath its weight.

He shrugged, "Whatever."

"Tactile telekinesis, huh? Show off."

A group of Monkeys swooped down on Asher. He dodged one, two, and caught the third by the legs. Using its own momentum against it, the black ranger spun the creature around and threw it into another group advancing on Jiona.

"An object in motion stays in motion," he said, activating his second spark power.

Concentrating on the flying monkey he'd just thrown, Asher caused it to keep going through the group behind Jiona that were attacking Will before almost knocking over Sir Real himself, had the monster not moved out of the way in time. It went careening into the solid brick frontage of a nearby building and fell unmoving to the pavement below.

"Unless met by an equal and opposite force," said the blue ranger.

The black ranger chuckled. "Hey, you know physics. Good for you."

"I listened in high school."

"Sure you did, buddy."

"I did!"

The red and white rangers knocked out the stragglers with blasts of lightning and energy, before the five heroes regrouped to face down Sir Real.

Still grinning, the villain seemed overjoyed with their progress. "Perfect, PERFECT! Just like real protagonists. Too bad this is the part where I make things difficult for you."

He stuck his hands out towards the rangers. "Don't get too comfortable... your strength is about to become your greatest weakness."

The flying pigs faded from view, apparently ceasing to exist. An eerie glow surround Sir Real's hands.

At first nothing happened.

Remy looked as though he was about to speak… when a spontaneous plume of sparks erupted from his suit dropping him to one knee.

"Remy!" exclaimed Vivia.

They rushed over to their fallen comrade.

"What happened?" "Are you alright?"

"Yeah… I guess I just…" he dropped his other knee, "I feel light headed... all of a sudden."

Sir Real laughed and, as if on cue, Will double over in pain. "Have you figured it out yet, rangers?"

One by one they dropped like flies. Jiona, Vivia, and finally Asher, sapped of any strength they once had. It felt like they'd gone ten rounds with a world champion boxer.

"Our strength- is our weakness…" Asher said, repeating what the Story Spark monster had said. Unable to hold his morph, the black ranger powered down.

"Keep going, black. You've almost got it," Sir Real taunted.

Once out of his suit, Asher was shocked to find he didn't feel so bad. He frowned, as feeling returned the lower half of his body. Surely it wasn't that simple, right?

"Guys!" He yelled. "Power down. _Now_. He's turned our suits against us."

They did as he told them, although most did it involuntarily, and sure enough the energy drain seemed to subside. Of course being unable to morph put them at a distinct disadvantage.

"I think I'm gonna leave you to stew in your new reality a bit," said Sir Real. "Have fun!"

With a flourish of his arm, the villain disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

None of the rangers made an attempt to pursue him. Although they were glad he hadn't decided to stick around and beat them to a pulp, it just didn't sit right. Even if their powers weren't trying to kill them, how on Earth could they prepare for the next, inevitable shift in reality?

* * *

As the five unmorphed rangers made their swift exit, a woman with a dark pacific islander tan crept out from her hiding place. Her clothes were unremarkable and her hair short mostly out of necessity. She pulled a small, well used spiral notebook from her handbag and made a few notes.

As shaken as she was by the weirdness she had just witnessed, she couldn't help but grin. She patted the camera hanging by her side.

"The power rangers are just a bunch of ordinary people?" She said out loud. "Now that's a story worth reporting! I wonder who they are?"

* * *

The rangers regrouped by the back door of the Dunoix Cafe.

Remy looked down at what used to be the source of his power-the Leonidas hero spark. He concentrated on it trying to feel the tug of power that usually allowed them to morph. Nothing. His eyes blurred suddenly and he felt his balance leave him. Will caught him before he fell.

He shook his head to rid himself of the brain fog that came with it. "That's some gree gree right there..."

Vivia raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what Remy meant by gree gree, but was stopped by Asher who mouthed 'Its a Cajun thing'.

"So we can't morph…" Asher said out loud, the voice of reason as always. "But we've got to do something."

"How?" said Jiona.

Sure they could use what martial art skill they had to slow Sir Real down, but what if he hit them with another change in reality? How far could his powers reach? However it worked, without the ability to morph the five rangers had very little advantage over him.

" _Remy_!" Came a voice from inside. " _Where you at_?"

"Damn!" He pocketed his spark in a hurry and practically leaped at the door.

He turned back to the others, hand on the latch, as though looking for permission. Everyone knew he didn't exactly need it, but felt it was only right to excuse himself. "That's my Ma. I guess I should be working now, huh."

Will smiled. "Go dude. We've got your back."

He nodded. "I'll be back quick-quick once my shift is over…"

"Do what you gotta do," said Asher with a shrug. "I'm sure we'll still be trying to figure this out."

Remy chuckled. "That makes me feel sooo much better," he said sarcastically.

"REMY!"

"Enough, just go already." Vivia opened the door and shoved him through.

The door slammed closed behind him. Strongly worded but totally indistinct conversation wafted back at them, but the rangers paid it no attention. Although they hadn't known the young chef for too long, they knew he'd come running if they called for him. Remy didn't seem the type to shirk responsibility.

"So what do we do?" Said Vivia.

Will shook his head and massaged his temples hoping to coax out a vision. "Don't know, but I keep hoping something might jump out at me."

"We've still got time…" said Jiona, adding, "for now."

Asher smiled. "A technicality, but I'll take it."

* * *

Sir Real reappeared in a small rented office space leased, as the plaque above the door suggested, to a company called Mighty Art.

He let out a deep sigh and took off his bowler hat. Soon enough a black mist surrounded him, altering his appearance until the only slightly taller form of comic book artist Drake Gordon remained.

The mist sucked itself into the bowler hat before the hat itself shrunk down and became the Mr Mxyzptlk Story Spark. Its influence upon him waned and he began to realise the scope of what he'd done.

All Drake had wanted was to find a storyline that would put Mighty Mamba back on the map and now he found himself in league with a real life villain. He thought the power of the story spark might allow him to shake something loose, to play out a few fantasies and come up with a legitimate threat for the Mamba.

From the first time he used the spark he found himself drawn to its power, like a vice. And yet it did something he couldn't explain. He knew every action he'd taken, liked it even…

Was the spark twisting his morals somehow?

His head swam and he put a hand out to steady himself against the dented wall. "This is too much…"

\- Flashback -

 **Two weeks ago**

Drake slammed the door of his studio and hit recall on his mobile phone. He paced across the room, and dragged a hand across his face while he waited for the call to connect.

Finally it did and he launched into what he wanted to say before the person on the other end could even say hello.

"Murray, you sonofa-... you're supposed to be my agent, right? They're about to take my house!"

[Hello to you too, Drake…] Murray sighed, [Look. Clearly this isn't getting through to you, so I'm gonna say it one more time in idiot speak. If you can't produce decent comic books, I won't have anything to sell. I'm good, but I'm not THAT good. And if we can't sell anything, you're gonna have to budget. Know what saying?]

"How long have we been friends?"

[That's not the issue-]

"Oh I see. It's never your fault, is it?" spat Drake. "Here I am, trying my hardest, and the money just isn't rolling in like it used to!"

[I can't control the market, Drake. Give me quality stories, and I'll see what I can do about getting you a bit of cash to keep your house. Okay?]

He slammed his fist into the desktop, scattering art supplies every which way. "Is that all you've got? After all we've been through?"

When Drake had divorced his wife, his highschool sweetheart, he'd found a friend in Murray. The agent had even negotiated a monetary advance to pay his legal fees. He didn't see how this was any different? Unless of course Murray wanted him to fail. What else could it be?

[Don't bring your ex into this. It's all on you. We'll talk later.]

Murray hung up before he could reply. He threw the phone at the drywall, smashing it's casing apart.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"That's going to be expensive to fix."

Drake wheeled about to find a man standing in his doorway. He looked like any normal guy you'd see walking to work. He wore a suit, suggesting he was a professional, but beyond that Drake didn't have a clue. "Who are you?"

"Call me Enigma."

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh- Okay?"

"I couldn't help but overhear," the man said, walking into the studio fully. "I have a business proposition to make. Interested?"

Drake rolled his eyes. He had no idea what the guys was on about. He'd never seen him before in his life, and frankly he seemed kind of nuts.

"At this point? I'll listen to any proposal as long as it makes me enough to pay my mortgage."

Enigma smiled. "Good to hear, Mr Gordon, and if you do one little thing for me I'll see about getting you the respect you so obviously deserve. Sound good?"

\- End Flashback -

Slow clapping broke Drake from his stupor.

"Very well done. A masterful plan." Drake's desk chair spun around to reveal Enigma in full spark form. "Just one caveat however… do you know what you're going to do when your current reality shift wears off and the rangers get their powers back?"

"Enigma! I-" the artist stuttered.

"I assume you remember the deal we made when I gave you that spark?"

"Of- of course."

Enigma narrowed his wolf-like eyes. "Next time you battle the rangers I expect you to take their sparks from them. Anything else is irrelevant. Understand?"

Drake looked down at the spark sat in the palm of his hand. He'd been drawing and writing about heroes and villains for most of his life. Though he'd always thought himself a good man perhaps fallen on hard times, now he found himself the villain.

He wanted to stop. Things had gone too far already, but the draw of the story sparks were just too strong. You couldn't understand it until you'd felt that power, that maddening, malevolent power that made nothing else matter. Even now, Drake could feel Mr Mxyzptlk aching to get out and cause some havoc.

"Do you understand?" Enigma repeated.

"Yes…"

Enigma knew how to pull a man's strings. Even a simple innocuous phrase held a wealth of threat.

"Good," the wolf-faced man said, folding his arms, "because if you fail I'm going to have to have pay your estranged family a little visit."

"No!" he screamed in desperation, "Leave them alone! I mean… I'll get them for you, the sparks. I swear!"

"That's what I'd hoped you'd say."

Maybe if he did this for the man, he'd be release from the power of this story spark. Then he could atone for what he was about to do.

* * *

The next day started much the same as the last.

It seemed like fall had held itself back for one more day and Vivia didn't mind. Back home in the UK, she'd seen far worse weather at this time of year. Still she clutched her coat tighter around her person, a habit if nothing else.

She would have rather been at her Nonna's house, taking the chance to rest up from Sir Real's attack the day before. Nevertheless, Scott somehow managed to twist her arm and get her to hang out with him. She had no idea what he had planned, and, honestly, wasn't sure she wanted to hazard a guess.

As they headed downtown to the Dunoix Cafe, Scott dragged his feet. Ahead of them were Jiona and Will, who they'd met totally by chance heading in the same direction with the same thought in mind. Only Vivia kept his sluggish pace.

"Why so glum?" She asked.

Realising someone had noticed his mood, Scott faked a smile. "Glum? Me?"

"Yeah. It's almost like you…"

Vivia trailed off as she looked ahead to their older friends. She sighed. Of course…

Scott blushed furiously. "Whatever you're thinking it's not like that."

She chuckled. "Good, because I swear, if you were trying to get a date out of me-"

"Uh, no… no, of course not," he stuttered. "Just hanging out with friends. Serious!"

"Okay."

"Good…"

As he hung his head, guilt washed over Vivia.

She only meant it as a joke. To think he'd take it so personally both annoyed and upset her. She berated herself for not being more sensitive, but she couldn't shake the idea that this was Scott Austin. He was irritating. He had a knack for inserting himself into situations that didn't concern him.

And he'd somehow gotten her friendship, she realised, at a time she'd only wanted to be alone. For some reason, she cared for him.

So annoying. Vivia opened her mouth to apologise, but was interrupted by Will.

"Alright, kids, what's up?"

"W-what do you mean?" said Scott.

"I'm older than both of you, remember?" he smirked. "And I know how teenagers think."

By this point Scott had tapped into a hidden well of courage … or false bravado at the very least. "What's your point?"

"Scott, _chill_ ," he said. Jiona sighed but ultimately kept out of it. "Viv, you too. It's a nice day. Let's not ruin it."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Man, for a red ranger, you don't make much sense..."

Vivia had to admit, she didn't get it either. Of course whatever Will thought was going on between her and Scott, he had a point, however vague. They did need to calm down. There was no point in getting at each other's throats.

Not when a monster like Sir Real was still at large.

Will smiled and shook his head. "You'll understand one day."

"Uh-huh, sure thing," said Scott.

Jiona stepped behind them and ushered them on with outstretched arms. She shot Will a look that Vivia couldn't decipher, before she spoke.

"Just forget about it. We need to get to the cafe."

As they got going, and fell back into step. Scott sighed once more. "Wasn't supposed to be a 'ranger business' day…" he muttered. "Supposed to be having fun…"

As they rounded the corner onto Main Street, the four met a strange sight, which could mean only one thing.

The buildings and shops, even the Cajun Cafe further down the road, looked as though they had been stretched and twisted like taffy or chewing gum until a light blocking canopy of masonry arched over the entire street. The area was deserted, but they couldn't tell whether people had gotten away, were hiding, or worse.

Will, Jiona and Vivia turned to Scott. They didn't have to say a word. He nodded and ran back around the corner to safety. Vivia knew he'd be watching their fight from his hiding spot with a huge grin on his face, but couldn't be bothered complaining. She could hardly stop him after all.

Sir Real appeared amongst them, mere inches from Will, forcing the rangers to scatter and regroup.

He let out a howl of laughter. "You lot are sooo easy to mess with!"

"What are you playing at?" said Will, glancing down at his wrist where the Tesla Spark sat and gritting his teeth.

Sir Real cackled. "I'm here for the final judgement!"

"Would you really attack an unarmed opponent?" said Jiona.

"Yeah, where's the sport in that?" added Vivia, picking up on the fact her older teammates were stalling for time.

"No, no, very true." Sir Real pretended to think on the matter for a moment. "Hmm… oh go on then, you've twisted my arm. Morph, then we fight!"

Jiona turned to Will and lowered her voice. "He's leading us into a trap."

Will nodded. "And yet we have no choice… It's morphin' time!"

Swiping their hands over their hero sparks the rangers found the connection to their powers intact. They shifted into their power suits with ease.

" _Beh_ … guess it's not a trap," said Vivia, momentarily slipping into colloquial Italian.

Sir Real sniggered. "Never let anyone say I'm not honourable!"

"When you attack innocent people," said the red ranger, "you don't get to hold the moral high ground. Rangers, get him."

The rangers leapt into battle. It was as if Sir Real had never stolen their ability to morph in the first place.

Will pressed the offensive with a flurry of punches he hoped would keep the villain on the back foot. The harder they pushed the less time he'd have to twist reality in his favour. Vivia, not as much of a fighter as the red ranger, nevertheless took her chance to land a sweeping kick that knocked Sir Real onto his back.

Jiona called on the power of her bamboo flute to summon snaking tendrils of energy to tie him up, but soon found them whipping at her, tearing into her suit.

The pink ranger took her eyes off their enemy to see what was wrong with her teammate. "What the hell...?"

Sir Real, back on his feet, let out a cackling laugh. "Did you really think I'd give you the advantage?!"

Will swung around and knocked the flute out of Jiona's hands. The energy whips subsided, leaving the white ranger battered, bruised and drained, but thankfully not broken. She kept her stance, waiting to see what other tricks the reality bending monster had store for them.

"I guess a clean fight was too much to ask for," said Will.

"Being honourable simply isn't all that fun. You'll understand one of these days."

* * *

Down the street, Scott recognised Sir Real's strategy as the exact same one used against Mighty Mamba in issue 136 by the dark wizard Harlequin, but before he could call out and warn them it was too late.

He couldn't hear what the villain was saying this far away, but he had a funny feeling it would be something about honour not being fun… but why would any self-respecting, real life villain take actions and lines wholesale from the pages of a three year old comic book?

The thought made him feel nauseous...

* * *

"Go on," taunted Sir Real, "Attack me and see what happens."

Will looked back at Jiona. They couldn't keep attacking him if all he'd do was turn it right back on them, but what choice did they have? As long as they didn't use their spark powers it would be okay. Probably…

The red ranger leaped into the air, aiming a flying kick at his enemy's head. Sir Real, feeling as full of himself as always, hadn't time to prepare a counterattack. Unfortunately, he ducked at the last possible moment. His bowler hat flew off his head as Will sailed passed. Despite the permanent grin on his masked face, it wasn't hard to sense his anger.

As the red ranger recovered, the villain stooped to pick his hat up off the floor. Jiona and Vivia used the opportunity to shoulder rush him. Although on the back foot, Sir Real remained standing. He braced himself with an outstretched foot before pushing back.

"Hmm, I've just thought of an even better idea!" He said.

Once more his spark power ignited, effectively breaking the stalemate against the pink and white rangers. The harder they pushed the less it seemed to help. Soon enough, Sir Real was able to get the upper hand and shove them clean across the street.

Seeing this, Will rejoined the fight, hoping to give his team mates some time to recover. He threw a punch at the cackling villain, but found his arm bend unnaturally passed him. He threw another and another. Every punch he made missed its mark.

"Why stop with your powers, when I can mess with ANY attack you make? HA!" said the story spark user. "And now to fulfil my promise to Enigma."

Knowing they couldn't stop him, the rangers watched as Sir Real advanced on them, intent on claiming their hero sparks on behalf of his master. Will tried to come up with a plan, a strategy, anything to save them, but couldn't.

"Stop right there, Sir Real!"

Asher and Remy, morphed as the Black and Blue rangers respectively, arrived in the nick of time to much relief from the other rangers. Unaffected by the reality shifts, they both activated their spark powers. Holding the power of Einstein and Leonidas, two of history's greatest thinkers (albeit in different disciplines), they could see strategy were others could not.

Asher felt his vision blur as a hundred possible moves played out in front of him. Remy looked across the battlefield, scoping out any number of potential opportunities.

Sir Real paused, confused.

"Attack him now!" shouted Will, "before he can use his power again!"

Asher pressed forward, using his tall frame to unleash a flurry of strikes against the much smaller villain. He didn't need Will to tell him what to do. He'd already seen all he needed.

Remy, rather than attack head on, ran in the opposite direction. The other rangers, who still couldn't do anything, faltered, but Asher kept focused. Although he didn't know exactly what the blue ranger was planning, he'd factored a number of potential strategies into his own. It really didn't matter either way. His primary concern was giving Sir Real no opening, no matter what.

Grabbing a downed parking meter as he went, the blue ranger dropped into a power slide and swung around using his momentum. At the peak of his arc, he released the meter with a burst of power from his Spark. It spun end over end through the air and ricocheted off some scaffolding with a resounding clang. The sound drew Sir Real's attention long enough for Asher to pull him into an arm lock and force him into the path of the projectile.

Just before it hit, Asher shoved Sir Real forward and dove out of the way. The meter struck the villain on the head and exploded.

* * *

"Yes!"

Scott pumped a fist. Frankly, he was glad to see the back of a monster who misappropriated classic comic book moments in the name of evil.

Knowing that the danger was over, he left his hiding place and ran over to his friends just as they were regrouping.

" _Dude_ , Remy. That was awesome!"

"Thanks _, mon ami._ "

"Yeah, if you and Asher hadn't got here when you did…" said Vivia.

Will grinned. "Guess it pays to be late sometimes, huh."

The dust settled around them. Coughing pulled them from their celebrations. Sat on the floor, clothes still smouldering from the explosion, was a man that most of the rangers had never seen before. Fizzling out beside him as a depleted story spark.

Scott knew exactly who he was.

"D-Drake… Gordon?"

The somewhat dazed former Sir Real looked up. "Yes?"

"You… you…"

"Scott?" said Jiona.

Drake's whispered reply was barely audible.

"I'm sorry."

"No. No, it can't be true."

The wide eyed Scott took a step back. And then another. And another.

Then he turned and ran.

* * *

Brandon Dean sat in his living room. The lights were off, but with his head in his hands he hadn't realised it had gotten dark outside. He'd not long heard about the rangers battle with the reality bending Sir Real, and once again it had gotten him thinking about the whole situation.

Apparently the monsters real identity was an artist by the name of Drake Gordon. Now Brandon had never heard of the guy, but he'd heard how upset Scott had been finding out one of his idols was evil. Will had mentioned how odd Drake had acted after the rangers destroyed the story spark, how he had apologised and asked for their forgiveness… Did story spark users know what they were doing as monsters? Did they have any control? Could the things they did even be considered their fault?

It brought up so many moral questions that Brandon decided to go straight to the source. If sparks were messing with people's minds he had to know. After all, he'd given a bunch of kids the hero sparks and he would hate to think he'd unwittingly altered their personalities. It was certainly true that Thomas had been acting strangely since he'd become Enigma, so if there was any chance of his friend finding redemption then Brandon needed to know.

"Storyteller!" He called out into the empty room, "We need to talk."

In an instant, a bright light forced Brandon to cover his eyes. When he opened them, the familiar old man was stood by the French windows leading into the back garden.

"Brandon Dean," said the Storyteller, his long wispy beard dusting the neck line of his dull grey robes, "What can I do for you?"

"I have questions," he said.

The Storyteller smirked. "You mortals so often do, I've found… but I will indulge you."

"When you gave me the sparks, told me to protect them, I still don't understand why you didn't mention anything about giving Tho- Enigma his own set. Why are you helping him? He seems hell bent on hurting people."

"Thomas Green summoned me, ranting about your hero sparks… he asked me to create him his own sparks based on works of fiction, rather than reality."

"Then you're the one who turned him into Enigma. Gave him sparks that turn innocent people evil!"

"I merely gave him a power comparable to your own. How he chose to use it is none of my business."

"How can you wash your hands of this? You're playing both of us, engineering a conflict, and for what?"

"Answer me this, Brandon Dean, would you blame the ancient man who created the bow and arrow to help him hunt for the countless bloody wars your species has fought since with guns and weapons of mass destruction? The tools I bestowed upon the two of you are neither good, nor inherently evil."

"You knew it could turn out this way…"

"Thomas Green chose to ignore my instructions about finding suitable candidates for the story sparks. You did not. As long as he continues down that path, it will yield only madness."

"So if I could only…"

But before Brandon could finish, the Storyteller disappeared.

He rolled his eyes. "One day I'm going to have to do something about that guy."

As little as he knew about the Storyteller, he had discovered a few important facts. 1) The old man claimed to be immortal. 2) He appeared to be a neutral party, setting wheels in motion but playing no favourites. 3) As awkward as he made it, he would answer questions.

Of course Brandon had to wonder what the immortal was holding back.

Playing two groups against each other… was it really as simple as him wanting to construct a good story? Were they pawns in an after dinner anecdote to be told to other pandimensional beings of extraordinary power? Or did the Storyteller have a hidden and far more sinister plan for all of them?

If anything had come from all of this, Brandon felt he had kept the rangers at arms left for long enough. It was time to tell them the whole story.


End file.
